Second Chances
by quibilah
Summary: What if they, Tony and Ziva had been able to get to Jenny before she died, would they have been able to save her or would secrets be revealed with her death? Jenny/OC, Ziva/OC, Jibbs, Tiva. Hints of McAbby.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: What if they Tony and Ziva had been able to get to Jenny before she died, would they have been able to save her or would secrets be revealed with her death?

Characters: Gibbs, Jenny, Tony, Ziva, McGee, Abby, Uri David, Vance, OC, OC.

Pairings: Gibbs/Jenny, Tony/OC, Ziva/OC, McGee/Abby, Tony/Ziva.

Spoilers: Judgment Day and season six somewhat.

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own NCIS or the characters in it although I am sure we all wish we did.**

Tony and Ziva ran into the building they had just heard the gun shots originate from, hoping that the director was alright. Ziva went around to the side door while Tony took the front. At three they opened their doors guns at the ready.

One guy was standing over the directors body with his gun pointed at her. Ziva went into Mossad mode and fired three rounds into his heart.

The body dropped on top of the director's lifeless body and bled out on to it.

Tony and Ziva quickly secured the dinner to ensure there were no other people in it. When they were finished they ran over to check on the director.

Ziva called 911 and alerted them of their situation and their coordinates. While Ziva was talking on the phone, Tony checked to make sure that the director was still alive.

As he rolled the body off of her he noticed her injuries and how severe they were. She had two gun shots to her stomach, one shot to her left shoulder, and she had lost a good amount of blood.

As he lowered his fingers to her neck to check to see if she had a pulse he was praying that they had been able to get to her in time. He put his fingers on her neck where her pulse should be. As he felt her neck he shook his head, closed his eyes and let out a low rough sigh.

**A/N:**** Ohh cliff hanger. Please don't hate me. I know this chapter was short, but I promise that the next one will be longer and explain some things that occurred. Please review and let me know what you think. I currently have the next two chapters written and promise to write as fast as possible. (I have this whole week off and wrote three chapters in about 3 hours.) So review review review and I will update for you.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**** Thank you for the reviews. I am glad to hear that you are interested in it. I have six chapters written so far. I am trying to write three chapters a day. If I can keep it up then I will try to post a chapter a day. Hope you like this chapter^^**

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own NCIS. Yes, still wishing I did.

_He felt her neck shook his head and let out a low rough sigh._

Feeling the faint pulse of the director he let out a sigh of relief and looked up at his partner. Noticing that Ziva misinterpreted his reaction he insured her that the director was still alive at the moment, but that she needed to get to a hospital as soon as possible. Tony noticed some relief wash onto his partners face and hoped that everything would turn out alright.

Jenny was trying to fight off the darkness that threatened to consume her when she started to hear voices. Unable to decipher who the voices belonged to she took a deep breath to find out who they were. At the amount of pain that racked her body with the gasp of breath she let out a moan of pain she couldn't keep inside.

"Jenny? Jen are you alright? You're going to have to hang in there alright. Everything is going to be okay." Tony spoke as he heard the directors moan of pain.

Jenny heard her name, but it was the name only few peopled called her. Hearing that name come from a male's voice she thought that he was here with her. Despite the pain that she knew would course through with this she took a deep breath to tell him to quit worrying about her. That she wouldn't quit that easily, but with the amount of pain that racked through her whole body all she managed to get out was his name before darkness consumed her completely.

"Jethro……"

Tony and Ziva heard Jenny moan before her heart beat slowed dramatically and her grip on Tony's hand slackened and fell limply to her side.

Tony looked up at Ziva with shock and worry etched on his face. Shocked with what she had said and worry at the decrease in her heart beat and her grip.

Ziva tried her best to mask the pain, worry, and shock she felt, but knew she had failed. She was scared that Jenny wasn't going to make it because of the seriousness of her injuries. Jenny had been one of Ziva's best friends, if not her best friend, since they had been held captive in Cairo. She didn't want to loose another of her friends; she didn't think that she would be able to handle it again. First her mother, then her sister Tali, followed by a very close childhood friends, then her having to kill her own brother Ari. It was too much to handle. No Jenny had to survive!

What shocked Ziva was to hear what came out of the director's mouth and how she had said it. "Jethro" She said it with so much emotion. It made Ziva think that Jenny still loved him, but that was impossible. Wasn't it? She knew that back in Cairo that Jenny had loved him and the stories she told her of them in Paris together and how much she regretted leaving him, but now? No Jenny had told her that she had moved on, that all of that was in the past. Now that she thought about it she remembered seeing the looks that Jenny had given to Gibbs and Colonel Mann when they were dating. The jealousy in her eyes as she looked at Hollis and the desire and regret when she looked at Gibbs. She started to wonder if Jen had lied to her to cover up the pain that she had felt in Cairo.

Ziva sure knew that she had lied to Jenny to cover up her feelings when Jenny had asked.

_Flashback_

_"So Jenny, do you like any one these days?" Ziva asked a slightly drunk director when they were having a girl's night out at the bar the team visited frequently._

_Jenny being only slightly drunk concealed her emotions as she had done for years and replied with a grin "Well Ziva we could talk about me and my love interests or we could talk about you and your feelings toward a certain special agent."_

_Ziva shocked that Jenny had picked up her feelings for him replied with a flat denial "Jenny, I have no feelings for any special agent that I know."_

_Jenny just smirked and replied with a sarcastic "uh huh."_

_End flashback_

Ziva smiled at the memory, but it was quickly wiped from her face as she was brought back to reality by the sound of the ambulance sirens.

Tony noticed the vacant expression on Ziva's face as it turned to a smile that was short lived as the paramedics came and got the director into the ambulance. He was curious as to what his partner was thinking about, but knew that it was neither the time nor place to ask.

"You want to ride with the director to the hospital and I'll call Gibbs and let him know what happened?" Tony asked.

"Yes, thank you Tony." Ziva replied as she got into the back of the ambulance before it drove away.

Tony called Gibbs fearing his boss's reaction while watching the ambulance drive off.

"Gibbs."

"Boss, we have a problem" Tony started

**A/N:**** I hoped that you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. If I get enough reviews I may update the next chapter tonight. As you can see I like leaving little cliff hangers, but do not worry I wont leave you hanging to long. So let me know what you think.**

**Oh if any of you have ideas for kids names let me know. I am thinking of taking this somewhere where it involves at least 3 kids. Thanks again for reading^^**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:****I am shocked to see how many people are interested in my story. Thank you so much for all your reviews and responses about my kids name dilemma. I just wanted to say that probably throughout this story there will not be very much McAbby, just hints because I cant really write that pairing to well. Sorry. I do promise on the other hand that there will be Tiva and Jibbs later on in the story. Thank you again^^**

**Disclaimer:**** *sigh* still don't own NCIS.**

"_Boss we have a problem" Tony started._

"DiNozzo when I get there you and David better...oh you better pray that the director makes it or I will head slap the both of you so hard that your great grandchildren will be dizzy." Gibbs threatened before shutting his phone and ending the call.

Him, Ducky, McGee, and Abby were already in L.A. for a case, two marines were shot and killed. They had already got a confession and were getting ready to go back to wahington when the call arrived.

Tony heard the call end and got in his car and started to drive to Long Beach Naval hospital. All the way there he was cursing himself for not listening to Ziva about tailing the director. Her blood is on his hands if she dies.

∙∙∙∙••••••۞۞۞۞۞••••••∙∙∙∙

Ziva arrived at Long Beach Naval hospital with Jenny who had yet to regain conciseness. As soon as they arrived the paramedics took Jenny into the hospital. Ziva was beside the bed gurney until a nurse abruptly stopped her and told her that she could not go in.

After a heated argument Ziva finally agreed to wait in the hospital waiting room for the team until Jenny was out of surgery.

She didn't have to wait long before the hospital doors burst open and a disheveled Tony ran in. he looked around the waiting room until his eyes found Ziva and he rushed over to her.

"Is she okay? How is she? Will she be alright? Oh god Gibbs is going to kill me." Tony rambled in one breath.

"Tony….Tony!" Ziva practically yelled to get his attention. "First, she is in surgery currently. Second, they will not tell me if she will be alright. And third, Gibbs is going to kill _us_ not just you. I was there as well." She said trying to keep her emotions in check.

"No Ziva! This is not your fault. If I had listened to you this would never have happened. It should never have happened." Tony said with guilt, sorrow, and anger in his voice.

"Yes Tony this should never have happened, but it did. And we are both to blame." Ziva replied. Tony looked up and caught his partners gaze and saw how hard she was trying to hide her emotions.

Ziva got caught in Tony's gaze and let her facade fall somewhat before she realized it and tried to quickly get them back in check.

All of a sudden Tony's arms enveloped her in a hug and after the initial shock she noticed the tears that were welling from both of their eyes. Neither of them was thinking about themselves, but about their friend who was currently unconscious in surgery.

"DiNozzo! David!" Gibbs yelled "What the hell happened? You two were supposed to be watching her to ensure her safety. So you tell why the hell she is currently in a hospital!" he demanded with anger evident in his voice.

Seeing that his two agents were trying to pick up the pieces they had just let go and hide the fact that they crying he tried again, but in a much softer tone.

"Look I know this is hard, but I need to know what happened and how the director is."

"It's my fault boss" started Tony only to be interrupted by Ziva.

"No! It's _our_ fault Gibbs." She was not about to let Tony take the fall for something that they had both let happen.

"No it's not Ziva! Look boss, after the funeral the director ordered us to take the day off and give her the car. She told us to go and enjoy L.A. for the day and that she would meet us at the airport the next day. Following her orders I decided that I wanted to go for a drive and take Ziva along with me. She wanted to stay close to the director just incase something were to happen, but I pushed her to come and she finally agreed to shut me up. I'm the one to blame, not Ziva." He explained.

"Tony I could have pushed and made you tail her, but I chose not to. We are both to blame." She tried again.

"Alright, alright! Both of you knock it off!" Gibbs yelled after watching the two of them argue at who was to blame. "It is neither one of you guy's fault. The person to blame is the bastard that shot her. Now. I need to know how she is!" he stated.

"She has two bullet wounds to her stomach. One bullet wound to her left shoulder, and she lost a lot of blood boss." Tony said sadly.

"She was barely conscious when we found her. We thought that she might have been uncouncious to tell you the truth, but she said something before we were sure went uncouncious and she hasn't come out of it since." Ziva informed Gibbs who was listening intently.

"What did she say?" he asked when they had finished explaining hat had happened. He thought that it might be able to help him find out who sent the shooters.

At this Tony and Ziva looked at each other wondering if they should tell him. After both deciding it would be best to tell him they looked back to Gibbs who was waiting.

"Well?" he demanded.

"She said Jethro"

**A/N:**** Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry about the confusion. Next one will be up tomorrow unless I get six reviews in which case I will update tonight. Thanks for all your thoughts so far I love to hear them.**

**Allie, I will try to incorporate some more Jenny/Ziva friendship scenes and thank you for the names I like them all.**

**Enjoy^^**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:**** Thank you for the reviews and pointing out my mistake. I rewrote the first couple of paragraphs if you want to go read it again. It's only a little different, but it will explain how everyone besides Tony and Ziva were able to get there so fast. They are actually currently at long beach naval hospital in L.A. Sorry for the confusion. You will also find out in this chapter that Jenny is engaged, but only Gibbs and Ziva know about it right now. I will explain more about her engagement in a little bit. Enjoy^^**

"_She said Jethro…"_

If Gibbs was expecting something this definitely wasn't it.

_'Why would she say my name? I wasn't even there.'_ He thought to himself trying to figure out why she used her breath to say his name and not her fiancées name._' Why me?'_

Gibbs was seated in the hospital chair in the corner of the waiting room deep in thought when Abby ran in and started asking questions. Ducky was right behind her trying to calm her down somewhat.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Is the director alright? Will she be alright? She's not going to die right? Oh Gibbs tell me she's not going to die!" Abby pleaded as she threw her arms around his neck and wept.

Gibbs wanted to comfort the Goth and tell her that everything would be alright, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was scared that he was going to loose Jenny himself. He knew that the fact that he wasn't able to convince himself that everything was going to be alright that he wouldn't be able to try and convince someone else that everything was going to be alright. So instead he just huge her and told her the truth.

"I don't know what to tell you Abs. Jen is in surgery and was unconscious before that. She has three bullet wounds and has lost a large amount of blood. I'm not sure if she is going to make it or not, but I do know that she is a strong women and doesn't quit easily." Gibbs smiled at the memory going through his head.

_Flashback_

"_Jen come on we are going to be late and you're lost. Just give me the keys and let me drive." He pleaded with her grinning a bit._

_"No Jethro. I am capable and I will find it on my own" she shot back defiantly at him._

_An hour later Jen was still trying to find the restaurant with little success, but she refused to let Jethro drive. She would quit that easily._

_"Jen. Then restaurant is closed now so if you will please let me drive us back to our hotel that would be great." He chuckled at the face she gave him._

_"You do not think that I will be able to find my way back to the hotel myself Jethro you are sorely mistaken." She said trying to look angry._

_That night they spent the night in the car because Jenny was not able to find her way back to the hotel and refused to let Jethro drive._

_End flashback_

Gibbs was brought back to the present by Abby and her questions again. A slight smile was still on his face from the memory.

"Oh Gibbs. How could this happen? Why would anybody want to hurt her? Who did this to her?" she demanded.

"Once again Abs, I am not sure. Once Jen gets out of surgery and we hear form the doctor then I promise you I will find the bastard responsible."

"I know you will bossman." Abby said giving him once last bone cracking hug before going to Ziva.

Ziva had her head in her hands and was sitting on the floor with her back to the wall.

"Ziva?" Abby tried not getting any response from her.

Ziva was to busy thinking about times her and Jenny had had.

_Flash back_

_Jen? Jenny you have to stay with me alright? You can't let them see you like this. They will think you are weak and they will take advantage of you. I can not protect you when they have you in interrogation, but you have to stay strong" Ziva said to Jenny._

_The two guards had just finished torturing her and Jenny and were currently standing outside the door. Ziva knew she had to get the American to stay awake or worse things would happen to her._

_"Jen. Why don't you tell me a little bit about your self?" She suggested to an almost comatose Jennifer._

_"Well I just left an undercover mission in Paris a few months ago." Jen started._

_"That sounds nice. I mean an undercover mission in Paris has got to be much a lot nicer then other ones you have been on yes?" Ziva asked trying to keep her awake._

_"Oh yes it was nice, beautiful. I went with my partner and fell in love with him, but I had to leave." She said sadly._

_"Why?" now she was curious. She had never been in love and wanted to hear about it._

_"First he was engaged at the time and I didn't want to hurt their relationship, even though he said he didn't care about her. And second something happened and I just couldn't handle it." She said a few tears escaping her eyes._

_"What happened" she urged a bit._

_"A mistake." The way she said it was very clear that the conversation on this was over._

_"I am sorry for you" she said right before a guard came in to take Jenny to interrogation._

_"Hey!" she yelled as she kicked the guard knowing they would take her instead. She was happy that she could help. She was raised to endure all kinds of torture where her American friend was not._

_She was right. The guard quickly delivered a blow to her face and gut before dragging her off to interrogation, where she knew it would only get worse._

_This flashback quickly changed to another memory._

_It was her comforting a crying jenny in the elevator. Gibbs had just said some pretty nasty things to her and she couldn't help it._

_"Jenny what happened?" Ziva asked trying to figure out what had made her so upset._

_"Gibbs walked in on Mark proposing to me." She said through her tears._

_Ziva just nodded. She had known about Mark for a couple months now and they were expecting him to pop the question any minute now. What came to a shock is why this upset her so much. She suspected that Gibbs still had feeling for her but she had blatantly denied any emotions for him. She still suspected Jenny had feelings for him, but she thought that she like Mark. So why would Gibbs walking in get to her so much._

_As if he could read her thoughts Jenny came clean. "Ziva I still love him as much as I did back in Paris if not more, but it can't and won't ever happen. He doesn't even feel the same way about me." She said as a few more tears escaped._

_Ziva couldn't believe it. Her suspicions were correct._

_"Jen how do you know he doesn't?" she asked._

_"First he is happy with that blond bimbo colonel Mann and second he said that he doesn't care." She replied._

_Ziva felt so sorry for her. They sat in the elevator for a half hour before going up to Jenny's office to talk._

_End Flashback_

Ziva was pulled out of her thoughts when Abby placed her arm around her shoulders and said her name again.

"Ziva?" Abby tried again. Seeing that she had her attention she continued. "Are you alright?"

"I am fine Abby, do not worry about me. I am not the one lying unconscious is surgery right now." She spoke as a single tear escaped. Ziva wiped it away angrily. She had to be strong for Jenny. She put her head back in her hands and tried to control her emotions as more memories of the two of them ran through her head.

Abby hugged her quickly and went to Tony. She could tell that he blamed himself for what happened to the director.

"Tony? Tony look at me!" she demanded. Tony obliged and met her gaze. "This was not your fault understand! You can not blame yourself for what happened. You saved her from getting shot again, and who knows maybe that shot would have killed her instantly." Abby tried.

"Abs, Ziva was the one that shot him. Not me." He said looking down.

"It doesn't matter. You were there. You both saved her from another gun shot wound. Do _NOT_ blame your self for this Tony!" she yelled as tears started to flow freely again down the Goths face.

Tony gave her a small nod and hugged her quietly.

Four hours after Jenny had gone into surgery the whole team was still waiting to hear news about her. Tony was now sitting next to Ziva listening to her tell little stories about her and the director, nothing that Jenny would mind her saying of course. Ducky was listening intently to Ziva's stories, for once not telling his own.

McGee was holding a still crying Abby whispering words of comfort to her, all the while trying to convince himself that everything was going to be alright.

Gibbs was sitting in the same exact position he was when he first got there. He hadn't even gone for coffee. Currently he was remembering the last conversation they had had and he felt terrible now for what he had said.

_Flashback_

_A man around his age walked up the stairs and to the director's office. He was curious as to who it was and what he was doing here because we they did not have a case at the moment. In fact they hadn't had a case in more than a week so she wouldn't have any meetings with any sister agencies or with the press._

_Curiosity got the best of him so he followed the man with dark brown hair and hazel eyes to her office. When Cynthia told him that she was in a meeting and didn't want to be disturbed he grew even more curious. So he did what he normally did._

_He continued to walk towards the door until he heard shout a happy 'yes' and a males sigh of relief and happiness._

_He walked into her office and frozen by what he saw. His mouth hung open in shock. There in front of him was the women he still loved in another man's arms kissing said man._

_He took a deep intake of breath trying to calm him self. He couldn't believe it. He still loved her and she was accepting a wedding proposal from a man he had never even seen before. He saw her look up at him and jump away from the man that was holding her. He saw pain and guilt was through her face as she stared at him._

"_Jethro" he heard her say quietly after a few seconds. He couldn't take it he turned on his heel and started for the door. "Jethro wait" he heard her say again and it caused him to pause for a second before continuing his retreat. _

_As he was out of her office he heard her say a quiet "excuse me for a minute mark" before he heard her behind him on the catwalk._

_"Jethro wait, stop for a second!" she said loud enough to catch a couple of eyes of the workers._

_"What Director?!" he stopped and turned towards her. "What is it that you want? Huh? Because it is certainly not what I thought." He yelled stepping closer to her._

_"Watch your tone and implications agent Gibbs. You know nothing of what I want and you know nothing about me!" she spat back at him. _

_He couldn't believe her. Turning this back at him. He was pretty sure that she still had feelings for him, but now he knew better. She did not have the right to be upset with him for being mad._

_"You are right Director! I don't know anything about you and frankly I don't really care." He said much quieter with more anger in his voice then before. As soon as he said it he regretted it, but wasn't about to take it back._

_He heard it before he felt it. A loud crack like whip sound was heard in the silence. He turned his head back to her and saw that she was trying to hold back tears but was unsuccessful as a few escaped. _

_He couldn't believe he had said that, but he just watched as she walked away towards the elevator. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ziva get up from her desk and head in the same direction._

_They remained in the elevator for a full half hour before the returned to her office that no longer had a Mark waiting for her._

_End Flashback_

Gibbs was pulled out of this memory when a doctor with blue scrubs walked into the waiting room holding a clipboard.

"Family of Jenny Shepard?" he asked and the whole team stood up. Gibbs tried to read his face for the news that was coming before the doctor said it, but all it held was sadness.

**A/N:**** Ohh another cliffy. I am sorry for any confusion in this chapter, but I promise it will start to make sense with the next couple of chapters. I almost cried writing the flashback that Ziva and Gibbs have. Please review and let me know what you think. The more reviews I get the faster I want to update. Hint hint.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:**** Firstly I forgot a disclaimer on the last chapter. Secondly thank you for all the reviews I love hearing them. Some make me get new ideas for the story and make me make it better. I am glad that nobody threatened to kill me when I had Jenny be engaged to someone. Enjoy the next chapter^^**

**Disclaimer:**** Nope still don't own NCIS. Yup still wishing I did.**

"_Family of Jennifer Shepard?" he asked and the whole team stood up. Gibbs tried to read his face for the news that was coming before the doctor said it, but all it held was sadness._

"Well I have some good news, but more bad news." The doctor started.

"The good news is that Jennifer had fmade it through surgery and is currently in the ICU. The bad news is that she is in a coma and may not wake up from it. She lost a lot of blood and needed a transfusion." He filled them in sadly. He hated giving family's bad news about his patients that were okay, but when they looked as if they were not going to make it was by far the worst. And this was the situation he was currently in.

"Can we go and see her?" Abby asked as she started crying again.

"I am sorry, but only direct family can go see her now." He looked down at her clipboard and noticed she had a fiancé. "Are any of you her fiancé?" he asked hoping he could help one of them out.

Ziva took a deep breath and stole a glance at Gibbs when this was said. To her knowledge only she and Gibbs knew about her engagement. She had wanted to keep it a secret.

Gibbs winced slightly as he said the word fiancé. He noticed Ziva was looking at him in the corner of his eye so he turned towards her more. He saw the look in her eye and her mouth 'go Gibbs.' That was all it took. One of them needed to see her and report back to the others.

He looked at the doctor and said "I am her fiancé." He was shocked at the emotion that ran through him when he said this. He had wanted it to be true more than anything at the moment, besides of course her being alright, and it hurt more than it should have when he told himself that it could never happen, Jenny left him not the other way around. It shocked him because not only could it never happen, but she was engaged to someone else and he had thought that he was done with marriage.

As he said this all eyes turned towards him asking what was going on. He just glanced at Ziva and she nodded her head telling him that she would explain everything to them.

Gibbs was having an internal battle with himself so he didn't notice when the doctor started walking to take him to Jen's room. Ziva noticed this and all be shoved him after the doctor.

Five minutes later Gibbs was left standing outside Jen's room trying to muster up the courage to go in and see her. He walked into the room and what he saw almost made him break down.

She looked so small and fragile lying in the large hospital bed. She was so pale that she rivaled to color of the white sheets she was lying on top of.

He walked over to her bed side and took her hand. He kissed the top of her hand and brushed the few tendrils of hair that were falling in her face.

He sat down in the chair beside her bed and held her hand between his. She looked so happy and peaceful, so much different from what she had looked like the last time he had seen her. The there was anger, pain, and guilt on her face, but now. Now she was at ease.

He missed seeing her look so at ease. Now that he thought about it, it was something that he hadn't seen since Paris.

_Flashback_

_He just stared at her as she lifted the fork to her mouth getting ready to try the steak au poive. She was so beautiful and he could stare at her for hours._

_She looked up before the fork reached her mouth and blushed scarlet at being watched. "What?" she asked._

_"Nothing. Just looking." He replied a little embarrassed that he had been caught._

_"See anything you like?" she teased._

_"Yes, I see something very nice." He replied._

_"Oh really? And what is that that is so very nice." She continued teasingly expecting him to make some type of innuendo._

_"How beautiful your eyes look in the candle light. And the way your hair looks in the moonlight, but most of all how you blush when you catch me watching you." He replied honestly._

_Shock clearly showed on her face before it quickly turned to happiness. "I love you Jethro." She said right before she kissed him._

_It was the first time that she had said she loved him. He had said it a couple of times before, but it was the first time that she had actually said it to him._

_"I love you too Jen" he replied before kissing her again with a little bit more passion._

_End Flashback_

The slow and steady beeping of the heart monitor brought him back to reality.

"Jen I hope you can hear me in there." He started "I promise you that I will find the bastards responsible for sending those gunmen after you, and when I do I will make him feel the pain that they inflicted on you." He promised.

Many hours later he received a call from an anxious Ziva and team. They wanted to know how Jenny was and they were going to go and find room accommodations for them to stay at until the director was stable enough to be moved to Bethesda.

Gibbs stood up and started for the door when he thought of something. He battled with himself for a minute before deciding that it would be safe for him to say it since she was unconscious.

He walked back over to where Jen was and took her hand again.

"Jen I love you, I always have and I haven't stopped, just please make through okay. I can't loose you to." He confessed before kissing her forehead and walking out of the room. He only looked back once, but when he did he could have swore her smile had gotten bigger, but he brushed it off as his imagination.

∙∙∙∙••••••۞۞۞۞۞••••••∙∙∙∙

Five days later Ziva sat next to Jenny's hospital bed talking to her as if she was conscious.

Her and Gibbs had been to the hospital every day since the accident and took turns alone with her. They had been able to get Ziva in to see her by saying that she was Jenny's younger adopted sister. Of course the doctor knew this but he wasn't going to stop them. He felt so bad for them and it wasn't as if the hospital would really care that much if they found out.

"You know Jenny you're putting us all through hell here not knowing if you're going to wake up. Cant you just you know…open your eyes and come back to us." Ziva said. She was really starting to get nervous when Jenny hadn't regained consciousness by the fourth day.

"I won't be able to handle it if you don't make it Jenny. Not again, it's happened to many times wake up!" she yelled

Jenny's P.O.V.

I could feel someone sitting next to me and somehow just knew it was Ziva.

She could remember what had happened, but for some reason it felt like it was a while ago. For the life of her she could figure out what had happened since then. All of a sudden she could hear Ziva's voice rise, but she couldn't make out what she was saying.

_Flashback_

_"Jenny! Come on, tell the truth!" Ziva laughed loudly. She was clearly a little tipsy._

_"Ziva keep it down will you!" she laughed back clearly embarrassed by what had just happened._

_She looked around and found that they were in a classy bar, not one of the dumps that were everywhere. She also found that Ziva and she were not alone. A hysterical Abby was with them in the bench seat in the back corner of the bar._

_"I can't believe you have a tattoo director!" Abby said through a fit of giggles._

_"Abby quieter please, and its Jenny outside of work." She laughed. _

_"Where is it and what's it of?" Ziva asked, much quieter then before._

_At this she went scarlet. She couldn't tell them what it was. But decided to tell them where it was hoping that they would be to hysterical to question further._

_She looked down at the table then to her lower stomach before looking up._

_"Umm…" she started embarrassed "about an inch in a half below my belly button and to the left a bit." She replied going fuchsia at the laughs they let out._

_"I can not believe that you have a tattoo so close to you're…"_

_"Abby!" The embarrassment flooding in her voice..._

_"Sorry. Not the place to say that out loud." She giggled._

_"I agree with where Abby was going" Ziva said when she was able to breathe again. "Why on earth did you get a tattoo _there_?" Ziva asked as another fit of giggles came over her._

_"I was drunk!" she said again. _

_The three of them spent the rest of the time talking about embarrassing moments into the early hours of the morning._

_End flashback_

Normal P.O.V.

Ziva watched as the directors face went from crimson to fuchsia and wondered what on earth she was thinking about.

∙∙∙∙••••••۞۞۞۞۞••••••∙∙∙∙

It had been a week in a half since the director's accident. They had caught they guy that hired the gunmen. On the way back to the hotel the man died for some reason. Strangely enough no one saw anything.

Gibbs had gotten his revenge and shot the bastard in the heart. The team had taken him to a grave sight and buried him. It was one that nobody ever visited so they didn't have to worry about being brought up on murder charges, which is always a good thing.

They went to hospital and met with the director's doctor who looked very happy.

"Good news I take it?" Gibbs said hoping that she had woken up.

"Well, better then before." He started "She is still unconscious, but she is stable enough to be moved. We are currently working on the transfer papers for her to go to Bethesda. She will be able to leave tomorrow morning." He said happy that he could finally deliver some good news to them.

"That's great news!" Abby shouted happily.

The next morning everyone was rushing to finish their last minute packing before heading to the air port where the director would already be.

"Come on DiNozzo!" Ziva impatiently yelled at him as they were running a little bit late and were only waiting for him to finish.

"Done!" he said as he walked out to the car and placed his belongings in them.

The ride to the air port was silent. Everyone was relieved that Jenny was showing signs of getting better, but they were still very worried. She had yet to regain consciousness and it was a little bit nerve racking to tell the truth.

They arrived at the air port and dropped of their rental cars and made there way over to the directors private plane.

As they entered the plane they noticed that Jenny was already there and ready to go. A team of paramedics was hovering over her to make sure that nothing happened to her on the plane ride.

Gibbs sat by jenny's makeshift bed the whole flight home. He didn't speak he just watched her sleep. If he could he would spend all day watching her sleep. Knowing that once they got back to D.C. he wouldn't be able to spend the whole day with her, like he had pretty much been doing for the past week and a half, he started to brace himself for it know.

The plane landed in D.C. around 2p.m. and they got the director into Bethesda easily enough. As soon as they had managed to get everything set up Gibb's phone rang.

He looked at the color id and realized it was NCIS headquarters.

"Gibbs" he said into the phone.

"Agent Gibbs, I need you and your team to meet me in my office as soon as possible." Assistant director Vance said into the phone.

"Your office? Last I checked Jenny was the director not you." Gibbs angrily spoke into the phone.

"Yes well seeing as she is currently unconscious in a hospital I am in charge. So I will say this again. You and your team in my office now!" he said before hanging up the phone.

Gibbs was seething with anger as he walked back to the waiting room to get his team.

"DiNozzo, David, McGee were going back to NCIS." He said walking past them to the company car that was waiting for them.

The three agents looked at each other for a second before running out after Gibbs.

**A/N:**** Well there it is. I dont know if you can move comatose paitents or not, but I had to or else the plot wouldn't work. Now I would like to give a huge thanks to Diamond and Stars for all the help that she's been giving me, she is the one that came up with spot for the tattoo, because I had no idea where to place it. Thanks D&S^^ Second I hope it's wasn't to confusing. What is Jenny's tattoo of and what could Vance possibly want? Do not fret, all will be revealed in good time. I do always love to hear what you all think about it so far. Next chapter containers major spoilers for Judgment Day 2. It probably won't be anything you don't already know, but I needed to put it in there and I didn't want to continue writing what happened next. I thought that it deserved its own chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: First I want to thank my beta Diamond & Stars; she's got great ideas and helps me get new ones. Thanks D&S^^ Second I want to thank you all for the reviews. I love to hear them (they make my fingers move faster!) And lastly if you have not seen Judgment Day Part 2 this chapter contains major spoilers for it. So you are warned. Enjoy^^**

** Disclaimer: I think we all know that I don't own NCIS if I did it would be  
much different.  
______________________________________________________________________________**

_**Last Chapter:**_  
_ "DiNozzo, David, McGee were going back to NCIS." He said walking past them to the company car that was waiting for them.  
The three agents looked at each other for a second before running out after  
Gibbs._

______________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter Six**

The team arrived at NCIS headquarters twenty minutes after they left Bethesda. Gibbs was still furious with Vance and how eager he was to step up and take charge. The three other agents were either smart or too frightened to comment on this behavior, so they all remained silent on the car ride.

Gibb's screeched the car to a haltand got out as soon as he killed the engine. Tony, McGee, and Ziva took a little bit more time getting out and headed into the building.  
"Gibb's looks angry." McGee commented  
"You don't say McObvious?!" Tony remarked sarcastically.  
"Tony shut your pot hole!" Ziva said turning to him.

"Shut your pie hole Ziva." McGee piped in.

"Do you want me to stick up for you McGee?" Ziva said as she turned on him. "If so I would not say that to me again." She said as she walked off to were Gibb's had gone, clearly not catching that he was correcting her  
English but not telling her to shut up.

"But Ziva, I didn't mean it like that!" He shouted exasperated.  
"Ha-Ha! You did it again McDork!" Tony said before following Ziva. McGee  
quickly followed suit.

________________________________________________________________________________________  
The elevator dinged and Tony and McGee walked out of the elevator to see Ziva and Gibbs leaning against the wall opposite the elevator waiting for them.  
"Up stairs.**" **Gibbs said tersely "The _deputy_ director would like a word with us." stressing the word deputy. He walked off towards the director's office.

The three agents quickly followed, not wanting to make Gibb's even angrier.  
As the team came close to the office Gibbs greeted the receptionist "Cynthia" Gibbs nodded at her and his team continued toward the office.  
"Go right through. He's been waiting for you." She informed them before they went into the director's office.  
All four of them noticed right away that it looked wrong with Vance sitting in Jenny's chair. Gibb's couldn't help himself; it slipped out before he could stop it.  
"I wouldn't get to comfortable Leon. You won't be sitting there long." Vance looked up at this with a smirk on his face but chose to ignore it and got straight to the point.  
"Officer David. The liaison position with NCIS is being terminated. You're going home." This hit the whole team like a ton of bricks.  
Ziva couldn't believe it. Her friend just got badly injured and may not make it and now she is being sent back to Israel?! She looked at Tony and saw anger and pain on his face. She then met Gibb's gaze and pleaded with him to make it so she didn't have to go back. She didn't want to leave her  
home, her family.

Everyone was brought out of their thoughts when they heard Vance's voice meaning that he wasn't finished yet.  
"McGee. I'm moving you across to the cyber crimes unit. You'll be working with officer Hollsworth acting tomorrow." They thought that he couldn't possibly do anything more to them, but they were wrong.  
"DiNozzo."  
"Sir?" he said with venom in his voice.  
"You've been reassigned. Agent Afloat, USS Ronald Regan. Pack your bags, you fly out tomorrow." Tony's face fell when he learned he too was going to be shipped off. Literally.

He glanced at Ziva to see what her reaction was. All he could detect was a glimmer of sadness in her eyes, whether it was for him, her, them, or everything that had happened in the past couple of days, he didn't know.

Tony turned to face Gibb's who was trying very hard to not punch Vance in the face.  
"Agent Gibb's. Meet your new team." He said as he held out three folders with the word_confidential_ stamped on them. Gibb's glanced at them and stormed out of the office to the hospital. It was the only place that he could think to go. She was the only one that would be able to help in the least bit, even if she was  
comatose. He needed to talk to someone and the only person that he trusted was Jenny.

______________________________________________________________________________  
**A/N: I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. I know that it wasn't anything new really, but I had to put it in there for the story to make sense. The next chapter will have more of Jenny in it and everybody's thoughts about things. Please review and let me know what you think.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I hope that you all enjoy this chapter. I must thank my wonderful beta D&S, she catches all those little things that would just ruin the story ot make it not make sense. Thanks Diamond and Stars^^.**

**Disclaimer: Nope _still_ dont own, but if I did.....**

_Last Chapter_

"_Officer David. The liaison position with NCIS is being terminated. You're going home." This hit the whole team like a ton of bricks. "McGee. I'm moving you across to the cyber crimes unit. You'll be working with officer Hollsworth acting tomorrow." "DiNozzo." "You've been reassigned. Agent afloat, USS Ronald Regan. Pack your bags, you fly out tomorrow." "Agent Gibb's. Meet your new team."_

∙∙∙∙∙••••۞۞۞۞۞••••∙∙∙∙∙

Chapter 7

"He can't do this to us McGee" Abby complained after she heard about what Vance was trying to do. "The director is in a coma and he is sending Ziva to Israel, Tony to a ship, you to the cyber unit, and giving Gibbs a new team. He can't do this! It's not fair." She yelled tears streaming down her face.

"Come here Abby." He said hugging her "It's all going to be alright. When the director wakes up she isn't going to stand for this. Okay?" he said trying to comfort her and convince himself at the same time.

"If she wakes up Timmy." Abby cried into his shoulder.

McGee knew she was right. There was a very good chance that the director won't come out of her coma and even if she did she might not be able to get the team back together, but he wasn't going to let Abby hear that. He was going to try to help her through this as much as he could

∙∙∙∙∙••••۞۞۞۞۞••••∙∙∙∙∙

_Ziva's Apartment_

She couldn't believe it. Jenny, her best friend had just been put in a coma and now she was being sent back to Israel.

Rage was coursing through her veins as she thought of Vance and that god damn toothpick.

"How dare you do this to me?!" she yelled "Just who the hell do you think you are?!" She knew he wasn't there, but she needed to say it anyways. She threw another one of her belongings into a box.

If she ever saw Vance again she was going to shove that god forsaken toothpick of his down his throat.

That thought caused sudden realization to hit her and caused her knees to buckle. She fell to the floor by her bed as she realized that it may very well have been the last time she would ever see them.

Unable to hold back her tears anymore she broke into sobs. Tears for Jenny, Gibbs and the rest of the team, but mainly tears for the fact that earlier today might have been the last time that she would ever see those she considered to be her family.

Sleep took over Ziva's tired and tear stained body. She fell into a deep restless slumber filled with memories of her past.

∙∙∙∙∙••••۞۞۞۞۞••••∙∙∙∙∙

_Tony's Apartment_

Tony was beyond pissed with Vance and himself. After Jenny's accident that bastard has the audacity to split up the team. They needed each other right now and he was sending them away.

"Damn you Vance!" Tony yelled into the apartment as he punched another hole in the wall in his anger, not caring if the neighbors called the police on him.

He could not believe he let this happen. He was more upset with himself for letting this happen then he was with Vance.

If he had only listened to Ziva and tailed the director then, none of this would have happened. Jenny would not be lying in a coma right now and the team would not be split up.

He downed another glass of alcohol trying desperately to take his pain away.

After a couple hours and four more holes to the wall, Tony was succumbed to a restless slumber whileimages of the director's lifeless body flashing through his head.

∙∙∙∙∙••••۞۞۞۞۞••••∙∙∙∙∙

_McGee's Apartment_

McGee was still in shock over what had happened the past few days. He was trying hard to be strong for Abby and the rest of the team, but it was starting to get extremely difficult as reality started to sink in.

He looked over to his left and watched as Abby rolled around on her side of the bed, obviously having a nightmare. Any other night he would have woken her up, but it had taken her so long to fall asleep and he didn't know if she would be able to go back asleep if he woke her up.

Still in semi denial he lay down next to Abby and hugged her close to him. When he was sure that he had Abby securely against his chest he let darkness take him. Images flooded through his head. Each one held a member of the team.

∙∙∙∙∙••••۞۞۞۞۞••••∙∙∙∙∙

_Abby_

Abby had cried herself to sleep and she was currently having nightmares upon nightmares.

_Abby just walked into Ducky's room when she saw him on the phone. __"Who is it Ducky?" Abby asked after __Ducky__ got of the phone. __She__ knew someone was hurt, she could feel it. Ducky looked up at her pain in his face._

_"Tony." He said his voice full of remorse._

_"NOOOO!" she said as she collapsed on the floor in tears._

_The nightmare suddenly changed again. _

_The dream was still in the same setting. This time it was different somehow._

_"Who is it Ducky?"__ Abby asked, hesitantly. _

_"Ziva." _

_"NOOOO!"_

**It changed one last time, ****still in the same setting,**** but this time it was of what really happened.**

_"Who is it Ducky?"_

_"The director"_

_"NOOOO!" she cried slumping to the ground._

Abby woke suddenly covered in sweat.

This was too much. She had dreamt that Tony, Ziva, and the director were all seriously injured. She didn't understand why she dreamed that Tony and Ziva died as well. She released herself from McGee's hold and hugged her knees close to her chest as she once again broke down into quiet sobs.

She stayed in that position the rest of the night unable to fall asleep.

∙∙∙∙∙••••۞۞۞۞۞••••∙∙∙∙∙

_The hospital_

"Jen everything's screwed up. You have to wake up and fix this please." Gibbs said to an unconscious Jenny. "Vance has taken over and he's splitting the team up. He's sending Ziva back to Israel. You should have seen the look on her face when she heard the news. There was so much pain in them as those words came out of his mouth. She actually looked scared Jen." He said. He looked at her face trying to see if she had heard him. The only thing he saw was Jenny, pale as ever, still unconscious.

"Of course there's Tony, who blames himself for what happened. Everyone has tried to tell him that it wasn't his fault, but he's not listening to anyone and now he's getting reassigned to be agent afloat. Jen you have to wake up and tell him it's not his fault. You're the only one he'll listen to right now. Come on Jen wake up please?!" he begged knowing she couldn't really hear him; at least he wasn't able to hear her when he was in a coma.

He sat there for a couple hours watching her face and listening to the heart monitor track the rate of her heart. She seemed happy and he was curious as to what was going through his head. Unable to figure it out he placed his head on the bed, her hand still in his and fell into darkness with memories of his and Jenny's past.

∙∙∙∙∙••••۞۞۞۞۞••••∙∙∙∙∙

_Jenny's thoughts_

Jenny was having memories of when she and Jethro went undercover together in Paris. She was so at ease with her dreams as they played one after the other. She didn't want the dreams to stop.

She didn't want to wake up from her dreams; her life had been so simple when she was with Jethro in Paris. She wished she could go back to when she chose to leave him and decide against it.

She knew she should wake up and let go of her past, forget that it ever existed. Sherealize that there was no way that she and Gibbs could ever be together; just give up on that future and wake up, but she chose once again to be stubborn.

No, she would continue to relive the moments between her and Jethro and of their love and passion for one another back then. Sherefused to let it go just yet.

Eventually she would, but now she watched as another memory started up in her head.

**A/N: Well there it is. Next chapter may not come until monday or tuesday just to let you all know ahead of time. I would like to get at least six reviews before I post chapter eight if thats possible(it is). So let me know what you think. Haha. Alright well hope you enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed writting it. Next chapter will be the one that tells wether or not Jenny lives or dies. So review and my little fingers will be speady!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Well I didn't get ix reviews I will let it slide and put the next chapter up anyways because, I had trouble leaving reviews for some reason. I once again thank my onderful beta Diamond and Stars for helping with yet another chapter. So here's chapter eight, I hope you enjoy it^^**

**Disclaimer: Nope still don't own NCIS, yup still wishing I did.**

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 !-- /* Font Definitions */ font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} /* Style Definitions */ , , {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} 1 {page:Section1;} --

It had been exactly one month since the director's incident and she had yet to wake up. Gibbs went to the hospital every other day for several hours to visit Jenny. He spent the days just confiding in her, knowing that she wasn't able to hear him, [at least he wasn't so he assumed that she wasn't able to either].confusing sentence….

He had complained toherabout his team and that Vance had assigned him a new team and told her how much he missed Tony, Ziva, and McGee. Although he admitted this now, he knew that he never could have if she was awake.

The doctors had told him it was strange that she hadn't woken up yet. Although to begin with, the doctors had told him that there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that she would make it through, but they were stillvery curious as to why she hadn't woken yet. All of her vitals were exceptionally well and she had been disconnected from all of the machines, save for the heart monitor. She was even breathing on her own which was very strange for comatose patients.

The doctors had said that it was as if she didn't want to wake up for some reason. That was the only way that they could explain for the strange behavior.

Gibbs knew all to well what they were talking about as he had been the same way when he was in a coma. He kept trying to figure out what could possibly be going on in her head to make her not want to wake up.

Little did he know she was thinking of the same memories that played in his head every night, moments that they had shared together throughout the years.

After an hour sitting with Jenny at the hospital Gibbs headed back to headquarters to finish up some paperwork.

∙∙∙∙∙••••۞۞۞۞۞••••∙∙∙∙∙

Jenny had been reliving every moment she had ever had that had involved Gibbs before life had gotten so complicated between them.

She didn't want to wake up from her thoughts and return to reality. Everything seemed so right in her memories, so perfect.

_Flashback_

_ "I've always admired you're way with kids. Ever think of having your own?" I asked curiously._

_ "Is that an offer Jen?" He teased._

_ I was a bit shocked at this question, even though he was only teasing me. "No Jethro. It wasn't an offer. It was merely an observation." I said not wanting him to get suspicious._

_ The truth was, I had thought about having children, ever since Paris. The thing was I hadn't found anyone that I wanted to have kids with, well say for Jethro of course, but that was out of the question. I couldn't go through all that pain again, once was difficult enough._

_ "You know why I get along with kids Jen? It's because when they lie they don't have the guile to get away with it." He said looking pointedly at me. I looked down at this to try to hide the hurt that came with this statement._

The flashback changed to a memory that was much more recent.

_I was sitting in my office when I heard somebody outside the door talking with Cynthia. My door opened and revealed Mark._

_ I got up from my chair and walked over to him and gave him a huge._

_ "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?" I asked knowing that he didn't get off work for another four hours._

_ "Well work was slow so the boss gave us the rest of the day off and I thought I would stop by and see how you were doing. Maybe ask a few questions well I'm here." He said cryptically._

_ Curiosity got to me. There was another reason that he was here other than to 'check up on me' and I wanted to know what it was. "What kind of questions?" I asked._

_ "How are you? How's work been? Busy later tonight? And would you like to marry me? Just those kind of questions." He said. I nodded not completely absorbing everything he had said. Then it hit. 'Did he just propose to me?' _

_ "What?" I asked making sure I had heard him correctly._

_ He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet box. He opened it and held it for me to see. "I said would you marry me Jennifer?" he asked with a huge smile on his face._

_ "Yes!" I said a little louder then necessary. He sighed before taking me in his arms and kissing me deeply._

_ Hearing my door open followed by a sharp intake of breath, I turned my head towards the door and jumped out of Mark's arms. There was Jethro, standing open mouthed watching Mark and me kissing. Guilt and pain washed through me at his expression, anger and pain that was also very clearly evident on his face. _

_ I still loved him very much, but both of us made a choice. His was to date that blond, Colonel Mann and mine was to do the same with Mark. _

_ I knew that I didn't really love Mark, but I was happy around him. But seeing Jethro's expression I wish I'd said no to the proposal._

_ "Jethro" I said quietly when I was finally able to make words come out of my mouth. He turned away and started for the door. "Jethro wait" I said louder causing him to pauses for a second before continuing to walk away. "Excuse me for a minute Mark" I said quickly as I followed him._

_ "Jethro wait, please stop for a second!" I said loud enough to catch a couple of eyes of the employees. _

_ "What Director?!" he snappedwhilestopping and turning towards me. "What is it that you want, huh? Because it is certainly not what I thought." He shouted stepping closer to me._

_ "Watch your tone and implications Agent Gibbs. You know nothing of what I want and you know nothing about me!" I spat back at him, upset that he was actually angry with me. _

_ "You are right Director! I don't know anything about you or what you want and frankly I don't really care." He said much quieter with more anger evident in his voice then before._

_ At this comment, so much pain and anger washed through me that that before I knew it my hand had connected with the side of his face._

_ A loud crack like whip sound was heard in the silence. He turned his head back to me. I was trying desperately to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall, but was unsuccessful as a few escaped. _

_I couldn't believe he had said that just now. He didn't care? When had he become so cold? I couldn't take it anymore and made my way towards the elevator. I saw Ziva get up from her desk when I walked by and she followed me to the elevator._

_Ziva walked into the elevators before the doors shut and hit the emergency stop before sitting down next to me and placed an arm around my shoulder. I was crying, I couldn't help it. Jethro, the man I still cared deeply for had told me he didn't care about me. How was I not supposed to cry?_

_"Jenny what happened?" Ziva asked, obviously trying to comfort me and figure out what had happened._

_"Gibbs walked in on Mark proposing to me." I said through my tears. Ziva had known about Mark for a couple months now and we had been expecting him to pop the question any minute now. _

_We sat in the silence in the elevator for a full half an hour before we went back to my office where Mark was no longer waiting for me. _'Good, causeI wouldn't be able to handle him right now anyways'_ I thought relieved that he wasn't there._

_End flashback_

Jenny's****eyes snapped open as she sat bolt up right. She winced a bit at the pain in her stomach with the action, but she took in her surroundings. She noticed rather quickly that she was in a hospital.

She turned her head to the left and noticed that somebody was sitting in the chair next to her, his head on her bed. He was obviously sleeping.

She knew who it was and was happy to see him, but she had hoped that Jethro would be there instead. She pushed that thought aside and woke up her fiancé.

"Mark? Mark you awake?" she asked as she shook his shoulder trying not to jostle herself to much for she didn't want the pain to come back. He groaned but lifted his head none the less. It took him a minute to realize that he wasn't dreaming still, but this was actually happening.

"Jenny?" he started "Jenny I'm so glad to see you awake!" he said as he hugged her. She winced at the pain that shot through her abdomen with the hug. He jumped back and apologized right away **by** giving her a quick kiss.

After they broke apart she asked "How long have I been out?"

He looked up at her and answered after a few moments of hesitation.

"Jenny, you've been in a coma for a month." She sucked in a breath of air.

'_A month?_' how could she have been out for a month? Her next thought was about NCIS.

"What happened at NCIS and who's been covering for me?" she asked Mark who just looked at her.

"I have no idea what's been going on. I never even bothered to check. Sorry Jenny." He said.

She couldn't believe that he hadn't bothered to find out anything about her job, but she let it slide this time. He was obviously worried about her.

He spent the next two hours filling her in on what had been going on in his life for the past month. He suddenly stopped and looked at her.

"What?" she asked feeling his gaze on her.

"When do we want to get married Jenny? I have to start arranging things for it, so it would be a good idea to have a time frame for it." He said and for what seemed like the tenth time that day she took a deep breath.

To be truthful she didn't want to get married to him. The dreams made her realize just how much she had missed Jethro. If she was going to be getting married, then she wanted it to be withJethro not Mark. But she knew that that was out of the question. She and Gibbs had not been together for over a decade and he wasn't the marrying type anymore, besides he said it himself. He doesn't care about her anymore so she mind as well move on. So for once again that day she pushed Jethro out of her thoughts and answered him.

"I think we should get married in three months. That leaves enough time for me to finish recovering and get settled back into my job. I also think that that is enough time to plan everything, right?" Suddenly shethought that it might take longer then that to plan a wedding. She had no idea how long it took, she had never done it before.

"Three months sounds good to me." He said as he kissed her again.

A half an hour later she was falling asleep again, but this time only to catch some shut eye. She wondered what had happened at NCIS while she was uncouncious and made a note that tomorrow morning she would give Ducky a call to come over and see her.

Normally she would call Jethro, but she didn't think that she would be able to keep her emotions in check if she were to see him right now. Not with all of the raw emotion that was brought up from her memories and with her just setting a wedding date. No, she wouldn't be able to see him so soon. So Ducky would have to do.

**A/N: Well let me know what you think. I would like at least six reviews before I post the next chapter, they make my fingers type faster and the next chapter involves a chat between Jethro and Jenny. So review and let me know what you thought. Thanks again^^**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Wow! 10 reviews! Thank you. I updated as soon as I finished the chapter. Thank my wonderful Beta Diamond and Stars for catching quite a bit of things in this chapter and making it better, Thanks D&S. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last^^**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own NCIS, yup, still wishing I did.  
**

"Jethro, you're still here?" Ducky asked coming out of the elevator as he noticed his friend sitting at his desk rather than the hospital.

"Where should I be Ducky?" Gibbs' asked clearly unaware if the news.

"Nobody told you yet?" Ducky asked in shock.

"Told me what?" Gibbs' asked confused.

"Well Jenny woke up from her coma yesterday. She called me a few hours ago, said she had let everyone know already. I guess she hadn't**...**" he trailedoff.

"She's awake? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Gibbs asked with anger evident in his voice as he grabbed his coat and headed fir the hospital.

The only thought going through his head on the ride to the hospital was, why hadn't Jen called him and let him know? Why had she called Ducky? He continued to ponder as he pulled into the hospital parking lot.

Ht got out of his car and headed to the hospital room that he had come to know so well over the past month. He came up to the room and found it empty. Worry washed through him when he saw that the room Jen had been taking residence in for the past month was empty; he thought something might have happened in the time that she had called Ducky to the time he had arrived.

"She's been moved to room 314" a nurse, in the room**, **said**. **She had come to know him from all the times he had come to visit the patient that used to be in that room.

"Thank you." Gibbs said before quickly heading to the new coordinates.

Gibbs came to a halt out side of room 314 and looked in before entering. What he saw hurt him more than it should have.

In Jenny's room he saw her and her fiancé kissing. Gibbs desperately wanted to stop Jenny and Mark from getting even more intimate, so he entered the room, willing to make both of them uncomfortable.]

Jenny abruptly broke the kiss when she heard someone clear their throat. She saw who it was and a light blush came onto her features.

"Jethro" She said shocked to see him here and somewhat out of breathe from the kiss.

"Hey Jen." He said and saw Jenny smile.

"Hello Jethro." She said again**, **this time smiling. She felt happier than she should feel, seeing him there. As fast as that feeling of happiness came, guilt came along with it._Get it together Jen! You're engaged and he doesn't care about you remember?!_.

Mark looked between the two and thought that they needed to catch up a bit. He thought that they were just good friends and didn't think, or see, that either one of them held feelings for the other.

"I'm going to let you two catch up. I'll come back tomorrow honey." Mark said gathering his things and bending over to give Jenny a kiss. He vacated the room quickly and left Gibbs and Jenny alone to catch up.

Gibbs winced as Mark kissed Jenny, and he wasn't positive, but he was pretty sure that he saw her wince as well when he kissed her as well. _It's probably just my imagination_. He thought before looking at her and trying to think of something to say.

"Yes Jethro?" she asked as she waited for him to start the conversation, not trusting herself. Just seeing him sitting there in front of her, made the memories of them start to play again.

"How are you Jen?" he asked worried that she might be in pain.

She smiled again; Mark had forgotten to ask how she was doing in his rush to tell her everything that had happened in his life in the past month.

"I'm okay, could be better, but considering everything**, **I'm good." She said softly thinking about NCIS. She desperately wanted to know what had happened in her absence and she thought now was a good time to bring up the subject.

"Jethro?" She asked, trying to get his attention again as a pained look crossed his face for a brief moment. She thought that he was most likely think about the day he received the call about her accident. He looked at her and nodded, silently telling her to go on.

"What's happened at NCIS since I've been out?" she saw his face blanch a few shades lighter and he would not look at her.

At that question Gibbs looked down. He really didn't want to be the one to bring out her fiery temper, and he knew that once she heard what Vance had done, that was just what would happen**;** her red headed temper would flair up immediately.

"Jethro?" she tried again, this time he looked at up and at her.

"Truth Jen?" she nodded, "Vance broke up the team when we got back from L.A. Ziva was sent back to Israel, Tony to the USS Ronald Regan to be agent afloat, and McGee was sent to the cyber crimes unit. My new team is a bunch of bone heads." He filled her in, trying to add a little humor at the end to lighten the mood.

But the humor did not help. She sat there, staring at him, mouth agape trying to take in all the news.

Gibbs was worried. She sat there staring at him with her mouth open.

"Jen?" he asked seeing her features change from shock to one of fury.

"He did WHAT?!" she yelled. White hot anger wracked through her body. She couldn't believe it, the nerve of that man. "I go into a coma and he breaks up _my_ team?!**" **Gibbs smirked. Technically, it was actually _his _team, but he'll remind her later. "Just who the hell does that bastard think he is?! The audacity he has**,** to come into _my­ _agency and screw with_ my _team.**" **Jen took a deep breath. Her eyes filled with anger and her hands balled up into fists. "Oh, when I get my hands on him he will pay and wish that he never messed with me!" She pounded her bed with as much force her body would allow at that point and reached over to grab a cup of water on her stand next to her bed.

Gibbs knew that it was not an empty threat by any means. He also knew if he didn't stop her blood pressure from rising, there would be another problem to deal with and Jen would not make her recovery as quickly as usual. He saw that she had taken a breath andwaterand knew that now was probably his only chance to intervene. He did the first thing he could think of.

He kissed her hard and regretted it immediately when he felt her tense beneath him. He pulled back quickly and realized he broke his own rule.

"Jen, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking.**" **Gibbs aid quickly "I didn't mean anything by it; I just wanted to calm you down before you got out of control. It meant nothing and it won't ever happen again." He said putting his professional mask on. He backed out of the room and exited the hospital leaving Jenny there alone to think.

She was in shock. _Did he just kiss me?_ she asked herself as she placed her fingertips on her recently kissed lips and smiled. Then all of a sudden the words of his apology set in. It meant nothing, and it won't ever happen again. She dropped her hand and took all of her strength to not let the tears fall and show her pain. No, she would put up her director mask, which she so often wore to hide her feelings, so nobody would be able to see what this man could do to her. She would look strong on the outside to anyone who could see her, while on the inside she was being torn apart.

**A/N: Well there its is. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writting it. I would like at least six reviews before I post the next chapter, which involves Jenny going back to work. Fair warning, it may be a few days before the next chapter comes, I am donating blood, working, and have a ton of homework this weekend, but if I get a lot of reviews I will make sure to stay up late working on it. Thank uou all so much for the previous reviews, I loved them all^^**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: First I want to say that I am sorry for the slow update, but I have been swamped with schoole work and normal work. Second I want to give a big thanks to Diamond&Stars for betaing this chapter, she made it much better than it was to begin with. Thirdly I want to thank all of you who reviewed, and lastly I hope you enjoy this chapter^^**

**Disclaimer: Nope still don't own NCIS, yup still wishing I did.**

**Chapter 10**

It had been two weeks since Jenny awoke from her coma. Gibbs had yet to visit her since he kissed her. If she was being honest with herself, she was sad that he didn't come back to see her and angry that he just left after he kissed her like that.

She was finally able to go back to work today. She was going crazy with nothing else to do but think.

She looked at her clock on her bedside table and read 5:00 in the green block letters. '_Time to go, I'm going to have to face him sooner or later.' _She thought before getting into her car and heading to NCIS headquarters.

Nobody but SecNav knew she was coming in this week, and even he didn't know it would be today. She wanted to keep it a secret so no one would make a huge deal about it, and do something that would put her in the center of attention, which was one thing she did not enjoy that much.

She pulled into the parking lot and noticed that only Gibbs, Vance, and Abby's cars were there. She hoped that Gibbs was visiting Abby so she could sneak into her office and deal with Vance before she had to deal with him.

The elevator doors opened and she noticed that nobody was on the floor. She let out a relieved breath and made it to her office as quick as she could with out running.

Cynthia was not there and she was happy because, she wanted to surprise everybody without making a big deal out of it. She walked through the small office to her door and flew it open. She was so happy to be back in her office after such a long time. She looked around her room to take in all the differences that had been made since she left and she couldn't help but feel that it was wring. Her office never looked like this when she was here and it felt wrong to her. She continued looking around until her eyes settled on Vance and her fury came head strong. She had an over whelming urge to cause him physical harm, but set it aside for the moment, she wanted to make him squirm.

She slammed the door shut after she stepped in. The look on Vance's face was priceless; the pure surprise, shock, and fear etched on his face were something she wouldn't forget.

Everybody knew of the director's red headed temper and nobody wanted to be at the receiving end of it.

"Director" Vance said wearily. "You're back." He said pointing out the obvious with surprise and nervousness in his voice.

"Hello Vance." She said, ice dripping from her voice. "I have a question for you." She continued mockingly. He nodded frightened for what she was going to do to him. "Where is Officer David, and special agents Anthony DiNozzo and McGee? They are normally here by now."

"Well…uhhh...you see... "I sent them away" he answered, pointing out the obvious again while wondering if he would be able to make it out the door before she could catch him, but he knew he wouldn't be able to; she was one of the best agents back then, and she was probably still extremely fast and dangerous and he didn't want to be the one to find that out. So rather then triggering any more of her anger and possible having bodily harm done to him, he stood still and waited for what she had to say.

"Director?" she questioned sarcastically, pointing to herself. Vance nodded warily at her. "That's right _I _am the director of this agency _not_ you! So I want to know what the hell you thought you were doing messing around with my team!" She waited for an answer. "So?!" she asked when he didn't answer fast enough; her voice rising fast.

He looked at her not knowing what to say. He couldn't tell her the truth. She would kill him if he did. '_Yes, you see Director; I have hated Gibbs since he got the undercover job with you in Paris. That was supposed to be my mission, not his. But that didn't bother me as much,__until I found out that you and he got too involved during it. That was _my_ plan and he got__the__chance instead of me. So I wanted to cause _him_ pain, but I never had any way to do it till now. So I sent his team away for no reason other than to cause him pain. Yeah that's about it.'_

No, he could not tell her that, there would be no escaping. He came up with an excuse and hoped that she wouldn't see right through it, but he knew that she being Gibbs' old partner that she would be able to.

"Director, I merely did what I thought was best for this agency. My apologies if I offended you in any way by breaking up Gibbs' team, but can Iask you this? Why is it that you are so upset with just the change that I made to Gibbs' team? Is he having his old partner fighting his battles fro him again?" Vance couldn't help but add "It worked so well the last time, he wound up alone in Paris, like he deserved." Vance regretted it immediately when he saw the emotions flash on her face: regret, pain, sadness, sorrow, hatred, anger, but the one that settled on her face was rage.

"You have serious problems if you believe that this agency is better off with Gibbs' team broken up." Jenny fumed "And for your accusations, I would be extremely careful with them. Some people would not take to kindly of them. Now if you would like to not be harmed in any way I suggest that you not point out Paris again, and the choices I made. So if you would kindly step out of _my_ office and not return that would be greatly appreciated." Jenny added **"**Thank you and have a nice day." She added sarcastically with venom dripping with her tone

He glared at her for a moment before turning to leave the room. Once he had the door opened he muttered a few words and left with a slam of the door.

Jenny watched as he made his exit of the room and almost shot him when she heard him mutter "_What happens when a women gets the head job at any agency; gets hooked up with one of her agents and lets the agency suffer for it. Women do not deserve to run an agency!"_ But knowing she would get into trouble if she 'accidently' shot an assistant director; she summoned all of her self control and turned to her desk. She pulled out her chair, sat down; pulled out her secret bottle of bourbon that only Gibbs knew where it was, poured herself a glass and waited for the events that the day would bring.

_Two Hours Later_

"Director Vance, SecNav is waiting for you up in MTAC."Cynthia's voice came through the intercom and filled the office. Jenny looked up and smiled. '_So it begins'_ she thought.

"Cynthia" Jenny started mock scolding "Its director Shepard." She finished waiting to hear from her trusted secretary.

Silence came through the intercom.

Instead, the door opened and a very shocked Cynthia walked in. A 100 watt smile lit her face when she found that it was in fact Director Shepard instead of Vance. She smiled larger when she saw that Jenny was smiling back at her. Cynthia ran over to give her a huge hug.

"Director, it is so good to see you back. The agency had not been the same without you." Cynthia finished stepping back.

"Thank you Cynthia, It's good to be back" Jenny said honestly."Now you said something about SecNav?" she inquired.

"Oh yes. He is waiting to speak with…you I guess. He said the director, so I assume that he meant you." She said the last part more to herself than to Jenny.

"Thank you Cynthia." Jenny said as she started to head out of her office.

"It's really good to have you back director." Cynthia said smiling; Vance was almost as bad as Gibbs was when he was acting like Director. Jenny smiled one last time before leaving the small office.

She walked onto the catwalk and glanced down toward the bullpen to make sure he wasn't there, which he wasn't. Of course she knew that if he was there. There was nothing that she would be able to do about it. _'Pull it together Jen! SecNav is waiting, so stop thinking about him!' _she scolded herself before quickly walking the rest of the way to MTAC.

Jenny walked in to a crowded MTAC and was met with cheers and smiles. She couldn't help but smile back. Everyone seemed so glad to see her rather than Vance and it made her feel good. She took all of the equipment and turned toward the screen which held a smiling SecNav.

"Jenny, glad to see you back, Vance did quite a number on us while you were out." He said as a small scowl appeared when he mentioned Vance.

"Thank you sir, it's good to be back." She said for the second time that day. She had wanted to speak with SecNav about getting Gibbs' team back together since she had heard about the separation a month ago. Now that she was able to ask, she was having difficulty finding out how to ask it. SecNav noticed her hesitant thinking face.

"Something on your mind?" he asked.

"Well yes sir, I was wondering if it was at all possible if I would be able to get special agents DiNozzo and McGee back as well as Officer David." Sheasked as forcefully without stepping out of line. Jenny didn't even want to contemplate what would happen if she couldn't get DiNozzo, David and McGee back.

SecNav looked at her for a moment before answering. "Jenny, you have to understand something." SecNav began.

**A/N: Haha, just a little cliffy. I hope that you all enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I did writting it. I would like at least seven reviews before I post the next chapter, which for warning may not come out til next sunday probably, because I am getting all four of my wisdom teeth out this week, so if I am up to writting then I will try my hardest to et the next chapter out earlier. And once again give a big round of a clause to Diamond&Stars for making my chapters less confusing and just plain better, tahnks D&S^^**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: First I want to apologize for the long wait, but there were complications with my surgery and I missed a week of school so I am very behind and haven't really had time before now, but it's here now and I hope that you enjoy it. **

**Second every one needs to give Diamond&Stars a huge thanks for helping with this chapter and making it much less confusing and longer then it started off as, and she has helped with the planning of a new fic I am going to start(explained briefly at the bottom). Thanks D&S!**

**Lastly I hope that you all enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it, it focuses more on Tony and Ziva as will the next couple of chapters. Enjoy^^**

_Seven Weeks Ago_

Tony woke up early the next morning only to find himself in an abnormal position on the floor of his apartment. He has set his alarm to go off at the crack of dawn knowing that he had a plane to catch, and he had yet to finish packing due to his 'fit' last night to put it politely.

He picked himself up off the floor and hurried around packing and cleaning as fast as he could so he wouldn't miss his plane, even though that was the last place he wanted to be, on a plane heading of to sea to be a stupid agent afloat. _Damn it DiNozzo! Pull it together and do what needs to be done! _He scolded himself for what felt like the hundredth time.

An hour later he had everything packed and was heading out of his apartment. Once he stepped out of his apartment, the crisp air outside, brushed his face and woke him up. It was a better way of waking up than downing several cups of coffee each morning.He let out a heavy sigh as he turned toward his door and locked it for the last time in God knows how long.

As he continued toward the car that was waiting for him, he tried his hardest to push back the memories but thoughts flooded his head with realization. He would have been completely successful too, if it weren't for the one person that was always able to get through his defenses. Flickers of memories between him and his partner were always able o make it through his barriers.

Handing the few bags he packed to the driver, Tony slid into the leather interior of the car. It was a nice car. Not too fancy, but still quite comfortable. He closed his eyes, trying to forget what has happened. The only thing he could hang onto now was that Gibbs would do his magic and get everyone back, and hopefully Jenny would wake up and everything would go back to how it was. _Who are you kidding DiNozzo? Things won't be back to normal. On top everything will be fine, but underneath things will be different."_

He was half way to the airport when he passed the street that he knew led to Ziva's apartment. After a moments an internal battle whether or not to ask the driver to stop for a few moments, he decided to ask and the car pulled onto the street and drove the short distance to the familiar building. The car lay idle, with the driver still in it, while he contemplated on whether or not to go and tell her everything. He wanted nothing more right now then to tell Ziva how he felt about her, but he wasn't sure if she felt the same way, let alone if she would even want to know now that they were being broken apart.

Having made up his mind he went to reach for his car door, but stopped when he looked back and saw her and a man exiting her apartment building. He didn't think that she was with anyone, and the realization hurt him a lot more than it should have. Tony noticed right away that the man was Israeli from his first look at him, as he looked closer he noticed that the man was about his height with dark brown hair that came down to the top of his ear. He had a deep tan and looked extremely strong.

He looked closer and could have sworn that he saw the man staring at her backside as she bent over to pick up her bags. When he saw the man make a grab for her ass he almost pulled out his gun and shot him, but once again was stopped when he saw Ziva's reaction.

He saw her grab his hand and twist his arm behind his back and ram him up against the wall. There she leaned over toward the man's ear and whispered something that made the man's face blanch a few shades whiter and nod quickly.

She released him and turned to lock up her door and grab her things once again, though this time the man did not make any move to grab her again, but the man's eyes still lingered in that area.

Tony smiled to himself as he saw the exchange take place, he knew by his partners reaction that she did not feel things for the man that obviously wanted to '_get to know her_' in the nice way of saying it. Thisrealization made him a lot happier then it should have, and he felt himself frowning somewhat at that. _DiNozzo, she's your partner for god's sake! Pull your self together already! _He shouted in his head to himself.

Looking back at the two he saw the man keeping his distance from Ziva as she loaded up her car. His smile grew when he clicked that she must have threatened the man. _Serves the bastard right, trying to pull something like that with my Ziva. _He thought quickly, and then as he realized what he said was shocked. _My Ziva? Since when did I become so possessive of her and start referring to her as mine?_

He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice a figure approach his car until he tapped on the window. He looked up and was more then a little shocked to see who was there. He rolled down the tinted window and rolled up the privacy glass between him and the driverso he could speak with the person that had just approached, who seemed just as interested to speak with him.

"Hello." Tony started once his window was down.

**A/N: Once again, I would like to apologize for the long wait with this chapter. I will be happy to let you know that chapter 12 is written and I will post it sometime Friday. I am also currently mapping out a Jibbs fanfic, and should hopefully have it done and up within a couple weeks, but things are very hectic at school and work lately because of the time I missed due to my surgery. So all you Jibbs fans be on the look out for a fic that will be titled 'So She Dances'. **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: First I would like to say sorry, I know I said that this chapter would be up Friday, but I was not home at all this weekend. Second I would like to give a big thanks to Diamond&Stars for betaing this chapter, it was a huge help, Thanks D&S. Third I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed on my story so far, I always love to hear what you think. And lastly, I would like to let you know that chapter 13 may be a while, but I will try to get it finished and out to you as soon as possible. I hope you enoy this chapter and please do not hate me for what happens in it. Thanks^.^**

**Disclaimer: Nope still don't own it, if I did enny would still be alive and her and Gibbs would be together.**

_Last Chapter:_

_He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice a figure approach his car until he tapped on the window. He looked up and was more then a little shocked to see who was there. He rolled down the tinted window and rolled up the privacy glass between him and the driver so he could speak with the person that had just approached, who seemed just as interested to speak with him._

_"Hello." Tony started once his window was down_.

The man looked down at him and nodded "Shalom."

Tony made the connection that he was Israeli and looked him up and down quickly. "Something I can help you with…?" he stopped when he realized that he had no idea what the man's name was. The man seemed to notice his hesitation.

"Ahriman" he said and offered his hand which Tony shook. He glanced back at Ziva and noticed that she was no longer outside near her car, but heading back to her apartment building like she had forgotten something.

"Tony" he said. He paused, and then realized Ahriman wasn't going to say something he decided to take matters into his own hand. "So Ahriman something I can do for you?" he asked again.

"I noticed you pull in and was wondering why you've watching my fiancé like a dog." He said.

"Like a hawk, the expression is like a hawk." Tony corrected quickly having been so used to correcting Ziva's mess ups. Then the man's words registered. He had said _My fiancé_. What the hell?! Tony stared at the man for a moment his mouth agape; no way could this man be engaged to Ziva.

"Excuse me, did you say fiancé?" Tony asked trying to will him not to say yes.

"Yes" Ahriman replied. _Damn it. Things aren't going so well today._

"How long have you two been engaged?" Tony asked. Hewas in denial. There was no way that Ziva would get engaged and not tell anyone, and the way she reacted to him was the same reaction she used for people that she had to tolerate, but could not stand. So that means Ziva didn't like him. But then why would she get engaged to a man she didn't love?

"Well she does not yet know of our engagement, but when we return to Israel her father will inform her of all the arrangements." He answered.

"She doesn't know that she is your fiancée? Then how can you call her that if she hasn't said yes to your proposal?" Tony asked clearly not understanding the man, but was very happy when he said that Ziva had no knowledge of the engagement. It meant that she didn't love the man that stood before him and claimed to be her fiancé.

"She does not have a say in this joining. It is as I believe you call it an arranged marriage here. Yes well her father arranged it and has set everything up for our return." He said coolly with a slight smile on his face.

No! There's no way in hell that this is happening. No way would Ziva ever go through with an arranged marriage, unless she was ordered to. He then realized she always followed orders not matter what they were. Damn it!

Tony knew that Ziva had never liked her father and she knew the same about him. He never really thought that her father was a cold hearted cynical man, but to force your daughter into wedlock with a man she obviously didn't love, well that was low and cold. He wondered what had caused her father to make such a rash decision. _But don't act as if you're _that _surprised DiNozzo,_ a little voice told him. _You had a feeling; you just didn't want it to come true._ The driver knocked on the window, signaling that they only had a few more minutes to spare before actually running late for the plane. Tony waved him off; still in shock. That was when he saw Ziva.

Tony first noticed Ziva out of the corner of his eye when she exited her apartment and turned to lock her door once again. He looked up and saw that Ahriman had turned and was also looking at her. Ahriman turned around again to face Tony, with what Tony interpreted as a smug smile on his face.

"If you will excuse me, I have to be going as you can see." Ahriman started. "I believe that you should be leaving as well. If I remember correctly, Director David mentioned something about the whole team being sent away. I assume you are from the team?" he asked and Tony nodded. "Yes, well I wish you the best of luck, but I must be going before she spots you and decides to come over and talk, as we are already running late. I am sure you do not mind?" he half stated half asked.

"Oh, yeah, sure, actually now that you mention it I am running late. Will you tell her I stopped by to say goodbye for me?" Tony asked.

The truth was, he still wanted to go talk with Ziva, but he didn't know if he would be able to control his emotions after the startling news. He also knew that if Ziva held the same feelings for him that it would only hurt her more because of the arranged marriage. He didn't want to cause her any more pain than she already is dealing with, so he would leave her now with the brief goodbye that they had shared in the office yesterday, even though he wanted so much more.

"I will tell her, it was nice to meet you Tony." Ahriman said before turning and walking off to where Ziva was turning away from her door.

"I'm sure you will. But the feeling isn't mutual." Tony spat under his breath as he rolled the privacy glass down and the tinted windows back up and motioned the driver to continue driving toward the airport once again, with no intention on making any more stops on the way.

**A/N: So there it is. Once again I would like to apologize for the late update and say that the next chapter might take a while as I have mid terms coming up. I hope you all enoyed this chapter as much as I did, the next one will be about Ziva's morning. I would like to get at least seven reviews before I put up chapter 13. Thanks again and I hope you like the next chapter.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: First I would like to say thank you to all that have reviewed, they are very much appreciated. I would also like to apologize for the mix up in the last chapter with me posting the wrong chapter.**

**Second I would like to give a huge thanks to Diamond&Stars for betaing this chapter, it is much longer then my others, but she got it back to me like the others with good ideas. Thanks D&S. **

**I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I did writing it. Enjoy^.^**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own NCIS or any of its characters. I do own Alvah, Ahriman, and Ara, but all others I am just borrowing.**

Ziva woke up in the early morning in a very awkward and uncomfortable position. She knew that she was supposed to be up early this morning because of the plane that she had to catch to Israel. She looked around the room she was currently in and sighed. At least she had gotten most of her packing done before she had her breakdown. She got up slowly and went to the bathroom to clean herself up; hating the fact that she allowed herself to have a breakdown.

Zivahad just finished fixing her hair when a knock on her door put her senses into overdrive. She was not expecting anyone today so a knock in the early hours of the morning had her in full agent mode. From the table,she grabbed her gun that was still in its holster from the previous night and cautiously made her way towards the door.

She looked out of the window adjacent the door and was shocked toseewho was standing there. She knew the man, but for the life of her could not find a reason why he was suddenly in Virginia rather than back in Israel.

"Ahriman" she said with venom dripping from her voice.

"Shalom Ziva" he nodded and offered his hand to her to shake. She looked down at the offered hand, and pointedly ignored the gesture. She hated the man for many reasons, and did not trust him one bit. In fact the last time she had seen him she shot him. _From the first day Ziva had met the man and learned his name she had been weary of him. Knowing the meaning of his name, not only unnerved her but made her a lot more cautious around him, not wanting to take any chances. _Before she was sent to Virginia she was assigned with Ahrimanon a mission. Ever since then she hated him, but still she wanted to know what the hell he was doing on her porch after three years and coincidently on the day that she was due to go back to Israel.

"What the hell are you doing here Ahriman?" Ziva asked, her eyes narrowing. "And I want the truth!" she asked obviously not in the mood for games.

The man took in her tone and realized that she was already upset. He knew that when he told her the reason why he was here she would get very pissed off, very quickly.

"I have been asked by Director David to escort you back to Israel to Mossad." He said bracing himself for whatever Ziva was going to do. Heknew that she was dangerous when she wasn't angry but when she was angry, oh god did you want to stand clear unless you wanted more bodily harm. He wasn't concerned that she would be able to hurt him of course, becausehewasher only competition in Mossad. Hewas the only one there that was able to defeat her in sparring matches almost every time. She was good, but so was he and he was positive that she wouldn't be able to do too much damage to him, but still he didn't want to take the risk at this moment.

Ziva stared at him not really comprehending what he was saying. Her father had sent the one person she hated; the one person that he knew would make sure that she returned to Mossad; the only person that would physically be able to make her return. She knew what this man could do and what he would do for her father; it was sickening to think about really. She could not believe that her father would do this to her, not after what Ahriman had done to her before she was sent away.

She shut the door on him, leaving himoutside, saying she would be out in a moment. She knew that there was no use in fighting it or him.

She got her belongings and opened the door and carried them out. She set them down next to the car, and went back to her house to get the last two thingsstill in her house. When she bentdownto pick them up, she felt a hand grab her ass. Her fury was sparked.

She turnedand grabbed his hand so hard that his head slammed into the side of the building.

"If you wan to keep your hand, I suggest that you never try that again you understand me?!" she hissed at his ear. "Next time you try something like that with me, I will shoot you without hesitation. Understand?!" she threatened and he nodded. She let his wrist go and finished packing the rental car. When they were almost ready to go she realized that she forgot her purse, which held all of her information and a very important picture to her, it was of her and a young girl that was very close to her.

She went back to the house to get it and whenshecame back outside, she saw Ahriman walking back to her. She glared at him before getting in the car and heading to the airport.

They arrived at the airport just in time to board the plane. Both of them were flying first class. After boarding the plane she promptly fell asleep and slept through the whole flight, making sure there would be no conversation between them. She woke up to the pilot telling them they were getting ready to land. She grabbed her purse and got ready to exit.

Apparently Ahriman had left his car at the airport, so she loaded her belongings into his trunk and got in; not wanting to say a word to him. He got in the car, started it up, and started to drive. Ziva knew that he was not one to have wondering eyes when he was driving so she knewthat now was an okay time to take out the picture she had looked at almost everyday for the last three years.

She opened her purse and took out her wallet and opened it up to the picture. The young girl in the picture was one that Ziva thought of as a daughter.

Ziva had Ara in her arms and they were both laughing. She missed seeing the young girl laugh and missed holding her. A wave of tears almost came on when the memory of the week before Ziva was sent to Virginia started to play out in her mind. Even though she didn't want to relive it, she knew that she couldn't stop it. It was a reoccurring memory that haunted her in her sleep for the past three years. As soon as it started to play out in her mind she was lost.

_Flashback_

_Ziva and Ahriman were on a mission to find the Mossad mole that was currently giving information to Hamas about their unit. They were sent to kill a man called Alvah, no questions asked, just in and out._

_They were still three miles out but they____were being extremely careful knowing that Hamas could have people all over the place. Ziva looked to her right and saw that Ahriman was there. She nodded her head in silent communication letting him know that they were approaching the first cabin on the map. This particular one was thought to be vacant so they approached it cautiously and entered._

_There was no one in the first room or the second, but when Ziva came to the third room she heard something coming from the closet. Upon opening the door she found a young girl she recognized._

_"Ara, what are you doing here?" Ziva asked trying to hide her confusion "You should be at home. Oh no; does Ahriman know you are here?" She asked; hoping the answer was no. "You should not be here in the first place, you are four years old. Did someone send you here?" Ziva finished__**, **__thinking that her father might have sent Alvah's younger sister____to let them know something about the mission. _

'That bastard would do something like it too; sending a fouryear old sibling to give news to help eliminate her brother knowing it willcause more pain.

_"Ziva" Ara greeted; jumping up from her position on the floor to give her a hug. "I've missed you so much!" She exclaimed after she let go of Ziva, who looked down at her with a genuine smile. "Ahriman doesn't know yet. I came all by myself. Sissy…" she hesitated __**"**__Are you really gonna kill my big brother, Alvah?" she asked tearing up slightly._

_"Look Ara, I know that you love him, but he is a very bad man and if we do not deal with him he will wind up hurting a lot of people. I don't want to hurt you, you know that, but I have to do this to protect you and countless others. Do you understand?" Ziva explained. Ever since her sister Tali, and Ara's mother and father were killed, Ziva had been raising Ara as her own. She always thought of Ara as her own daughter, and although she would never make the young girls think of her like her mother, she truly yearned for her to think the same, and perhaps one day actually call her mother. But she didn't think that Ara really thought of her as anything more then the sister she never had._

_While Ziva thought that Ara only saw her as a sister, she actually her as the mother she never got to know, to be honest Ziva was the only thing she had as a mother figure. Even though Ara only called Ziva her sissy, she really wanted to call her mommy, but thought that she might get mad at her. She may be young, but she was very smart for her age._

_ Ziva honestly did not want to see her in pain, but knowing that she was causing the pain made it that much worse._

_Ara looked at her with tears falling down her cheeks. "I understand." she said as she hugged Ziva and cried into her shoulder._

_"I love you Ara, you know that right?" Ziva asked__**,**__ feeling the little girl nod she continued to sit there and gently rub her back and letting her cry on her shoulder. They never heard Ahriman's footsteps enter the room._

_"Ara? What the hell are you doing here?!" Ahriman shouted._

_"Big brother" she said and went to give her real brother a hug, but he pushed her away before she could____reach him, causing her to fall to the floor. Ziva got up and stood____in front of Ahriman's face____ready to protect Ara, knowing that he never really felt anything for either of his siblings._

_"You leave her alone you hear me?! I am to watch over her for the duration of the mission, nothing is to come of her!" Ziva threatened. She knew that they were equally matched, but would do everything in her power to protect the little girl she thought of as a daughter._

_Ahriman looked Ziva in the eyes before responding. "She gets in the way what so ever, and I will shoot her."____He replied coldly. "Director David gave specific instructions to eliminate the target and I do not plan to have a child get in my way. So if you want her to live then I suggest you make sure that she stays out of my way." He threatened and he left the room._

_Ziva knew that this wasn't an empty threat. He always followed through with them, which was why her father liked him so much. Ziva looked down to see that Ara was once again crying, and she couldn't blame her. Being threatened to be killed by your older brother is extremely sad. She bent down once again and picked up the young girl and carried her to the bed in her room._

_"Here honey, you can stay with me, everything will be alright don't you worry. I won't let anything happen to you I promise." She spoke before starting to sing the low melody that always calmed her down. Ara slowly drifted off to sleep and Ziva was soon to follow._

_Ziva woke to Ahriman's alarm and knew that if she and Ara wanted to avoid any conflict with him; they had to get moving. He would be extremely upset if they made him get going later then he had planned._

_ She turned to her left and gently woke up the sleeping four year old._

_"Ara, sweetie, you got to get up now, we have to get going okay?" the little girl nodded and started to get ready. _

_Fifteen minutes later, the three____of them were on their way. Ziva was extremely surprised to see that Ara was able to keep up with them with no problem. She kept quiet and hid as well as a full grown agent. _'I know that I have been working with her for the past year, and that she is a fast learner and remarkably smart, but this is just amazing' _she thought to herself_.

_They were approaching the place that was to be holding Alvah. Ziva turned to Ara and told her to hide and to wait for her to come and get her. She nodded her head and Ziva turned back to the building and started to approach with Ahriman. There were two guards outside, and they were dealt with swiftly and quietly. _

_They came to the door and kicked it open. They were shocked that no one had sent any shots off when they entered the building. They quickly scanned it._

_"Ziva!" Ahriman shouted from outside. She quickly ran thinking that something must have happened. She ran out and noticed that he had Alvah outside and had a gun pointed towards his temple. _

_"Goodbye Alvah" he said before firing the gun and abruptly killing his older brother._

_"No!" Ziva heard Ara shout and turned to see the little girl running towards her oldest brother. Fear wracked her body as she turned to see Ahriman pointing his gun at Ara. _

_"No, don't!" Ziva shouted as she heard another shot ring into the suddenly silent woods. She turned one last time to see a look of pain cross Ara's face before she started to fall to the ground, obviously having been shot. Ziva pointed her gun at Ahriman and shot him, wounding him so she would hopefully be able to gain time and escape with Ara and save her. She walked towards Ahriman and quickly disarmed him and ran towards the little girl's body._

_"Ara? Ara? Are you okay honey? Come on honey, just hold in there okay. I'm going to get you to a hospital; you just have to hang in there alright? Can you do that for me?" she pleaded. _

_She was normally not one to cry, but she was now. All of her emotions from when Tali had been killed came flooding back to her with the revelation that she might lose another family member, even if she was blood related, Ara was really the last person she really cared about anymore._

_"It hurts so much!" Ara said through her tears._

_"I know honey, but you have to stay with me, I can't lose you, and I won't!" Ziva said and when she heard an extremely faint whimper from Ara that she couldn't quite make out she looked down at the young girls face and made eye contact._

_Ara blinked through the pain and opening them again she looked at the women she though of as a mother and said the thing she had always wanted to say. "Mommy, I love you so much." The weak reply came from Ara before she lost consciousness._

_Even though it was quite, Ziva was able to make out what the little girl had said, and it squeezed at her heart hearing what she's wanted to hear since the day she first started raising Ara as her own, but also knowing that she was in so much pain, and that she had just lost consciousness made an overwhelming sadness rock through her body._

_Through her tears, Ziva took off at a sprint, trying not to jostle Ara's body too much._

_They arrived at the hospital that evening and Ara was taken directly into surgery, leaving Ziva behind to pace in the waiting room._

_She needed to call her father and inform him of the mission and everything that happened. Since she was doing nothing other than worry; she thought now was as good a time as any. She took out her phone and dialed the familiar number._

_"Director David" he answered._

_"Director it is Ziva." She started only to be interrupted by him._

_"Ziva? Why is it that I have heard that you have shot your partner?" Ziva internally cringed. He already found out. "You better have a damn good reason." He said with obvious anger._

_"Director first I would like to say that we have eliminated the mole successfully. Second…" but once again she was interrupted._

_"I know damn well that Alvah has been eliminated. My best agent has already explained that to me. What I want to know is why the hell you shot said agent!" he yelled._

_"I shot him because he shot Ara! He shot her for no reason. Thanks god I was able to get her to the hospital, but as of right now I am still not sure if she is going to make it. That bastard tried to kill her. I was not going to sit by and watch him kill my baby!" she yelled thoroughly pissed at him. Then her words registered to herself. "_My baby.'_ oh god no, he is going to kill me._

_"You're what?!" The Director yelled confusion and anger evident in his voice._

_"My child!"____Ziva yelled back.____"I am the one who cares for her, and has raised her since her mother and father died. She is my baby girl and I was not going to sit there and watch her die, I couldn't handle it, not again, not after Tali. Forgive me Abba, but she means too much to me." She said realizing that she didn't care anymore who knew that she thought of Ara as her sister, but like her little girl, she was also very happy that said girl thought of her like a mother. When Ziva heard her call her 'mommy' she was so happy, and she was not ready to loose her, not now, not ever._

_"I am sorry about this Ziva. I know this timing his horrible__**,**__ but effective immediately you are being sent back to NCIS as a liaison position. You leave in two days. I suggest you pack your things." He said his voice softening somewhat._

_Ziva couldn't believe it, Ara was in surgery and the doctors were not sure if she was going to make it and on top of everything__**,**__ her father was sending her away. She would not be able to protect Ara while in Virginia. "Abba, please. At____least____let me stay until I know that she is going to make it. Right now she is in surgery and they are not sure if she is going to make it or not, and even if she does make it through surgery, she slipped into a coma before we arrived. Please Abba." She said knowing that he would think less of her than he already did by the way she was acting, but she didn't care._

_"No, I will make sure she is cared for, but you leave in two days." He____paused__**. **__"Oh and Ziva? I truly____am sorry," he said with more compassion than she ever remembered hearing from him._

_"Yes sir" she said and heard the click of his phone._

_It was the morning she was due to leave, and she was sitting in Ara's room. Ara had made it through surgery, but because____she____was____so young, her body had shut it self down to deal with the trauma and heal itself._

_"I am so sorry I can't stay Ara. I love you so much, but I have to leave and I am not sure when I will return, but I promise you that if you fight I will be back as soon as I can. You have to fight! I wish I could stay with you sweetie, but I have to leave now to catch the plane. Good bye my love, I will see you as soon as possible." She said as the tears threatened to escape again. She bent down and kissed her forehead before turning to exit the room. "I love you and will miss you." was the last thing she had said to____Ara before closing the door behind her and telling the nurses that they better take damn good care of her. _

_She barely____made it to the car that was taking her to the plane before the tears fell. She didn't know when she would be back to see Ara, but she prayed that Ara would fight and that she would be reunited with her in the near future._

_End Flashback_

**A/N: Well there it is. I know some people may think that Ara is a little young, but it was the age that I wanted her to be, it wouldn't really work for the rest of the story if she were older. I have started the next chapter, but am not sure when it will be done. Along with Diamond&Stars ideas, this chapter changed a lot from what it originally was, but I like it much better. I would like at least seven reviews before I post the next chapter. Thanks again^.^**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: First I want to apologize for the long wait, but both Diamond&Stars and I got extremely busy with the end of the school year. Second, I know that this chapter is much shorter than the others, but I thought that where I ended it was the best spot. Thanks again for all of you who have patiently waited, hope you like it. Enjoy^.^**

**Disclaimer: Yah, yah I know already. I don't own NCIS or the characters, but I am pretty sure we all wish we did.**

**Last Chapter**

_"No, I will make sure she is cared for, but you leave in two days. Oh and Ziva, I am sorry," he said with more compassion then she remembered hearing from him ever._

_"Yes sir" she said and heard the click of his phone._

_It was the morning she was due to leave and she was sitting in Ara's room. She had made it through surgery, but being so young her body had shut itself down to deal with the trauma and heal it self._

_"I am so sorry I can't stay Ara, I love you so much, but I have to leave and I am not sure when I will return, but I promise you that if you fight I will be back as soon as I can be. You have to fight! I wish I could stay with you sweetie, but I have to leave now to catch the plane. Good bye honey, I will see you as soon as possible." She said as the tears threatened to escape again. She bent down and kissed her forehead before turning to exit the room. "I love you and will miss you." Was the last thing she had said before closing the door behind her and telling the nurses that they better take damn good care of her. _

_She made it to the car that was taking her to the plane and let the tears fall. She didn't know when she would be back to see her, but she prayed that Ara would fight and that she would be reunited with her in the near future._

_End Flashback_

**Current Chapter**

"Ziva!" Ahriman said. Ziva gave no response. She continued to stare out the window.

"Ziva!" Ahriman tried again.

"What?!" she yelled coming out of her thoughts. "What could you possibly want?!" she yelled with all the anger and pain the memories brought back. The good thing about going back to Israel was that she would be able to see Ara, but that was the only good thing. Ziva was thinking about her and realized that she would be seven. She was getting lost in her thoughts again when Ahriman started talking to her.

"I wanted to say that the whole fiasco that occurred before you were sent away has changed me. I am no longer that cold blooded killer that I was when I shot Ara." He noticed her flinch at this and added. "You know that she finally woke up from her coma." He said eyeing her in his peripheral vision.

Ziva began to listen closely "You said just? How long ago is just?" she asked.

"Four days ago." Ahriman said pleased with her reaction. "She has been asking for you non stop and the director won't let anyone in except for himself, and the nurse. He wants me to take you straight to head quarters and drop you off to see her." He said knowing that what he said wasn't exactly true, but he needed to say it because he needed her to allow the director to give custody of Ara to him once they were wed. Ara knew too much about him, even if she didn't even realize it. There was no way he was going to let her talk, he needed to take advantage of the fact that Ara didn't know she knew about him but in order to do this he had to put on an act to get custody of her. He looked over look at Ziva's reaction and noticed slight confusion in her features.

"She was moved into the care of Director David two months after the incident and since he resides at headquarters, Ara stays there with him." He elaborated and saw the confusion being replaced by slight eagerness.

"Good, I would love to see her. I have missed her very much in my leaveand I want you to take me to headquarters so I may see her and talk with the director." She said letting a little of her happiness show through.

She noticed that the car picked up speed some what and was relieved. The faster he drove, the sooner she would be able to see Ara and get away from him. She did not trust him one bit, no matter what he said. At the thought of Ara, all her thoughts about mistrust were wiped away except for the lingering voice in the back of her head that warned her not to trust everyone.

She was going to get to see her little girl shortly and the news was so good that it lifted her spirit to heights she couldn't have imagined. _'A few more minutes, just a couple more minutes' _she continued to chant in her head.

Twenty minutes later they arrived at Mossad headquarters. Ziva didn't bother to unload her things from the car at the moment; she wanted to see her little girl again.

She walked into the building and was almost stopped by a new trainee when she saw Jack, one of the older agents at Mossad, stop him.

Jack had seen the new recruit heading to stop Ziva. He knew her well enough to stop the new guy so he grabbed the back of the new guard'sshirt.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Not if you want to live to see tomorrow." Frank advised. The younger man looked at him with a puzzled expression. Frank elaborated, "First, that is the director's daughter who was just ordered back from Virginia after three years. Second it is no secret that the young girl that is being watched by the director is hers, well in a manner of speaking." He explained without giving too much away.

The older man sighed and shook his head and explained further. "Think about it. She hasn't been here for three years. She considers that girl behind those doors as something like a sister, probably something more, and she has not seen her since she was sent to Virginia. Three years ago that little girl was shot and slipped into a coma, which was right before Ziva was sent away. The little girl just woke up. Are you getting it now?" Frank asked exasperated.

"Oh. Wow. Thank you." The younger man said, grateful that he was stopped before getting between an assassin and those she holds close.

Ziva heard the conversation that started between the two, but did not wait to intervene because she hated people talking about her, especially anything about her personal life. No, right now all that mattered was seeing her baby girl and making sure that she was okay.

She continued to the door that she knew held her father. She knew she had to see him and talk with him before she would be able to see Ara. She took a deep breath to hopefully gain the courage needed to proceed. '_Come on Ziva, pull yourself together! Ara is waiting to see you, now push the damn door open and face your father so you can see her!' _she scolded herself for hesitating.

At the thought of Ara waiting to see her she found the courage that was needed to push the doors open and face her father.

She opened the doors**. **She would have never been ready for what awaited for her on the other side.

**A/N: Well, there it is, I know that this chapter is much shorter than the last one and that I said I was only going to do a few more of Ziva's POV, but I thought that it would be best to end the chapter like this, leave a cliffhanger. I am hoping to have the next installment out the weekend after July 4****th**** weekend, but I'm not positive, I have part of it typed up, but I am leaving for vacation tomorrow morning and wont be back for awhile, but I will try. I would also like at least 7 reviews before I post the next chapter. Thanks again^.^**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Sorry for the wait of this chapter, but it is a lot longer than I thought it was goin****g to be, I hope that makes up for the wait somewhat. Second I need to thank Diamond&Stars for sticking with me on this lengthy chapter and making me realize too very important things, which she knows what they are. I think everyone needs to thank her for helping with this chapter, it turned out much better than the original, thanks D&S. Thirdly, I didn't get as many reviews as I would have liked, but that's okay, here's the next chapter anyways. Enjoy^.^**

**2****nd**** A/N: This is for any one reading 'So She Dances' I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can, but I have a big problem with my computer. See I was cleaning up after a friend and spilled soda on it, all of the keys on the left side are extremely sticky so it takes forever for me to type anything on them. My sister has been kind and lets me use her lab top every once in a while, but not often. I am looking for a new one anyways, but, I just wanted to let you all know why the next chapter has not been updated yet. Sorry.**

**Disclaimer: Nope still don't own it, yup still wishing I did.**

Upon opening the door to her father's office the first thing Ziva saw was a little girl with black hair talking with her father, and her father was laughing slightly.

The little girl looked towards the door when she heard it open thinking that it was just another agent coming in to tell the director something, but what she saw made her stop talking to the director all together.

"Mommy!" Ara shouted loudly.

Eli, the director had been telling Ara for the last hour that Ziva would be here shortly and now she was.

Eli gave a small laugh at the outburst from the little girl he grew to love with the time he had spent with her.

Ziva watched as Ara jumped up from where she was sitting and started to run towards her. The shock of seeing Ara in her father's office rather then in the guest room where she had assumed she would be quickly wore off to be replaced with happiness. Ziva managed to squat down just before Ara reached her. She opened her arms just as Ara jumped into them, clinging to Ziva, as Ziva was clinging to Ara. With the little girl still in her arms, she stood and continued to hold her.

"I missed you so much sweetie." Ziva said before kissing the small girl on the cheek.

"I missed you too mommy." Ara said and Ziva felt her heart squeeze. She was about to say something more, but a throat clearing in the room reminded her that they were in company. She set Ara on the ground, but continued to hold her hand as she turned her attention to her father. She was surprised to see that he had a small smile on his face.

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

Eli David watched as his daughter interacted with the little girl and couldn't help but smile. He couldn't remember the last time that he had seen his so happy and full of life. He cleared his throat after a while of watching, knowing he had to tell her everything so she would be able to get ready for the following week. She looked up at him and almost all of her smile vanished as she set the small girl down, still holding Ara's hand.

"Director" she greeted "I was told you wanted to see me."

"Yes, how have you been Ziva?" he asked generally interested.

Ziva was shocked her father asked how she was; never before had he cared,_ why now_? She asked herself as she responded.

"I am fine." She answered and he nodded. "With all due respect sir, is there something you needed from me?" she asked. She wanted to spend time with Ara, not her father.

But then,Ziva noticed how, at this question Eli's smile vanished to be replaced with one of regret and sympathy. Ziva was getting worried that something might be wrong with Ara so she looked down at the girl who was still holding her hand whilst leaning against her leg. It was now the Ziva noticed how small she was, not only how thin Ara was, but also her height as well. It was almost as if she had stopped growing when she went into a coma, but Ziva could detect slight changes in her appearance. Therefore, instead of being at the height of a seven year old, she was more around the height of a four year, as well asher facial features. Ziva couldn't believe that her baby girl looked almost exactly the same as when she left three years ago, the only difference was it seemed she had aged a few months rather then years. Ziva squeezed Ara's hand a little tighter which in turn, caused Ara to look up at her "mother's" face and she smiled at her. Ziva returned the smile just as warmly, but once again was brought back to reality when her father started talking.

"Officer David, I would like you to escort Arato the guard outside the door so I may speak to you about an urgent matter." Eli said while waving his hand and signaling her to the door.

Ziva hesitantly led Ara to the guard outside the door, looked at him andrealized that he was one of the few Mossad agents she trusted. After telling Ara she would be back in a couple minutes, gave her a kiss and hug, she told the guard to keep Ara safe, and re-entered the office to hear what her father needed to tell her.

"What is this urgent matter director?" Ziva asked narrowing her eyes. She sensed her father's hesitancy and wonder what would make him hesitate so.

"Officer David, due to certain circumstances of late" he paused in which he looked towards the door, Ziva followed his line of sight with her own as he continued speaking. "I am sorry to say that at the end of the following week you shall no longer be known as Officer David, but rather Officer Shalev…"

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

Ziva was sitting on her bed leaning against the headboard in room. Ara was curled on the bed sleeping with her head resting on Ziva's lap. Ziva was running her fingers through Ara's hair while she thought about what her father had told her.

After meeting with her father and hearing what was to take place in just over a week, Ziva and Ara had returned toZiva's new room where Ziva unpacked her things, while Ara lay on the bed, where sleep claimed her.

Therefore, Ziva sat there playing over the conversation just over two in a half hours ago between her and her father. She was still in shock over the news.

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

_Conversation_

After Ara was sent out of the room, the Director started to inform Ziva of what has to take place if she wanted to save Ara.

"Officer David, due to certain circumstances of late" he paused in which he looked towards the door, Ziva followed his line of sight with her own as he continued speaking. "I am sorry to say that at the end of the following week you shall no longer be known as Officer David, but rather Officer Shalev…" Eli paused to see her reaction and when none came, he continued. "I know how you feel about Ahriman, but you must wed him in one weeks time from tomorrow, or things will become very bad for you, Ara, and me. I am very sorry Ziva, truly I am." Eli told his daughter clearly not at all happy with having to give the news, while Ziva was just as, if not more, unhappy to hear the news.

Yeah, sure he was always difficult on his daughter and may have acted as if he didn't care, but it was really only for her own protection. If anyone found out that he really cared for Ziva as a daughter rather than just an agent, operations and lives could be risked. Ziva was the only family he had that was still alive and he didn't think that there was much he wouldn't do to keep her safe.

Of course, since getting to know Ara, he thought of her as somewhat of a granddaughter and he certainly loves her like one. It is for this exact reason that he is having Ziva marry Ahriman, he can't lose another loved one, and perhaps two loved ones, no, not again.

"I will be known as what?" Ziva askedquietly, her eyes flashing, a tell-tale sign she was not happy with the situation.

"Ziva," the Director sighed "I am not happy about this anymore than you are, but I believe given the options this is the happiest option. I will give you the final choice though, seeing as it directly involves both you and Ara, but I must have your final decision by twenty two hundred this evening."

"Reason and explanations." Ziva replied curtly.

The Director paused to look at Ziva. This wasn't going to be easy.

"First as you know" the Director began "Ara's parents are gone which leaves only Ahriman as her guardian. I know you have been the one raising her, but hear me out okay?" she nodded, her eyes still narrowed. "The Israeli ambassadors have somehow been notified that she is not residing with blood relatives, and they believe that she must. This will leave her in Ahriman's company where he will no doubt, from what you have told me and from what I have seen, take an offer for his own benefit.

"Here's the offer. There is a man who is currently awaiting Ara's arrival. I am sure about thisbecause the man called two days ago and asked when the child was to arrive. I was able to hold him off, but if you do not wed Ahriman and get custody of Ara, I have no doubt that in the span of a few days time she will be dead. Here's the thing Ziva, this man in Iraq raises children for suicide missions. Ahriman has taken a keen interest in the man's proposal and I fear that he will do it, to which I have already said, but you are the only person I believe that can prevent Ahriman from doing this, becausein some way he fears you. Andlets face it dear, no one wants to be at the recieving end of your fury" The Director added softly. Ziva looked away and the Director continued.

"Butfor some reason since you wounded him, Ahriman has been very interested in you, and has agreed to marry you. This would make you directly responsible for Ara and she would not only stay in your custody, but she will be marked as your daughter, but do not worry she will stay named as his sister. Do you understand that if you go through with this you will have more pull on Ara, and if, say, in a months time or two, once all of the paper work is through, someone could perhaps have to leave on a "permanent mission" or such and decide to leave their spouse. The one with more ownership would get to keep Ara and take her.

"Ziva, please think this over wisely. I believe I know what you will choose, but none the less I will give you until this evening to give me the final decision." Her father explained.

While Eli was telling Ziva all of this,she had already made up her mind, but she was in too deep of thought she forgot to voice her choice aloud. It wasn't until her father was looking at her waiting for an answer, when she remembered.

"I do not need till this evening to decide Aba" Ziva started softly. "I will marry Ahriman, but only if you can insure, without a doubt, that I will be able to leave him in a month, two months at the most." Ziva finished looked at her father. Her father smiled as he answered her.

"There is no way I would ever have you stay with him. Besides I am sure if you were to stay with him any longer than two months, the he wouldn't survive too much longer after that." Her father added softly as an afterthought.

"Thank you father, now would it be alright if..."

"Yes, yes, go visit with Ara. You have a week before you have to see Ahriman, so make it a good one. Oh and Ziva, Ara knows it has been three years, and not just a couple of months, despite her size."

"I have a question." Ziva started to be interrupted only to be waved off as her father continued speaking.

"Why does it look like she has not aged at all? Yes, well as you know her injury was severe, and because her body was so young it seemed to focus on healing her, and not so much on making her grow. I am not entirely sure why this has happened, and nor do the doctors really, but I will tell you one thing. She may know it has been three years, but to her it has only been a couple of days. Let her know what you have been up to, about the people at NCIS. Just talk to her, she has missed you terribly."

Ziva nodded and she smiled at her father. "I will, thank you father." She said before turning and walking from the room.

Ara stood with her arms folded across her chest staring at the door on the otherside, waiting for her mother to come out. When the doorknob started to turn, she uncrossed her arms and opened them up getting ready to give her mom a hug. The door opened and she pounced at Ziva, who caught her right as she jumped.

"Hey sweetie, you want to come help me unpack?."

"Yes!"

_End conversation_

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

"Mommy? Mommy?" Ara was saying trying to get her mother's attention.

"What? Oh sorry honey, what's wrong?" Ziva asked as she realized she had been in her own little world for the past couple of minutes.

"Mommy, will you tell me what you have been doing for the past three years?" Ara asked with a puppy dogface, Ziva looked at her and smiled.

"Sure. Let's see, where to start?" Ziva teased "Okay, I was sent to a place called Washington to work with a group of agents there that figured out crimes that take place….." Ziva explained to Ara, who just sat there and listened to everything her mother was saying. "And that's really everything I have been up to." Ziva finished after a couple of hours.

"What were the people like, you know, umm what was there names?" Ara asked scrunching up her nose "Gibbs, McGoo, Tiny, and the two other people you said?" Ara tried and Ziva had to laugh at her names she used.

"Gibbs, McGee, Tony, Abby, and Jenny?"

"Yeah, those people, what were they like?" asked with child-like curiosity.

"Well let's see, who do you want to start with?" Ziva asked not sure whom to start with herself. Ara pondered this for a minute before she broke out in a smile.

"Abby, because her name starts with an A, like mine." Ziva smiled, but agreed that Abby was a good one to start with.

"Well, first off, she is very hyper, all the time. We didn't get along at all when I first got there, but once we got to know each other we became really good friends. She loves, and I mean loves, her job, the team, the color black, cafpows, which are a type of energy drink I guess, but I am not really sure because I have never had one. Oh andshe _loves_ giving hugs. I think you would really like her, she kind of reminds me of you in a way, with how animated she is, and of course you both have so much energy." Ziva said as she started to tickle Ara, who shrieked and squirmed to get away.

"Okay okay!" Ara shrieked trying the grab her mother's hands to stop the tickling, but it didn't work. "What about the other girl, umm I think her name was Jenny." Ara asked hoping to stop her the tickling, which Ziva did.

"Oh well there is a bunch to say about her. Why don't we do her in a little bit. What about McGee?" Ara nodded. "Okay, McGee is very smart, and sweet. We all know that he is in love with Abby and that they are dating, but he is trying his hardest to keep it a secret, so we all just pretend we don't know about it. Umm what else, he and Tony constantly bicker, but they are a lot like brothers, actually everyone that I'm going to tell you about is like a family. Abby, Tony, and McGee are kind of like brothers and sisters, I certainly thought of them as such, well not really Tony I suppose, he was different."

"What do you mean different mommy?" Ara asked not understanding what was different about this Tony fellow.

"Can you keep a secret sweetie?" Ara nodded excitedly. "Okay first he is very hansome, funny, smart, even though he sometimes acts like he's not. He's also really nice once he gets to know you, I don't think there is anything that he wouldn't do for anyone of us that was on the team. I guess I fell in love with him after awhile of working together, but it wont ever go anywhere because, he does not see me the same way, not will he ever. He is too busy looking at every other girl he sees walk down the street, but I still love him, and I try not too, but it doesn't help anything." Ziva said sadly. Ara noticed her mother's dislike towards the man and was swayed not to like Tony as well only because of Ziva.

"I don't like him at all mommy, he's mean!" Ara said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and frowned at her mother. Ziva smiled in side, but wanted to make sure that Ara knew that he was still a nice person.

"Sweetie, just because he won't ever see me like I see him, doesn't mean he's mean. He really is a nice guy." She tried, but Ara shook her head.

"No, he's mean and I don't like him." Ziva actually smiled and decided to drop it, she knew that children were stubborn, but Ara was raised by her, which would make her that much more stubborn.

"Well you have heard about everyone except Jenny and Gibbs, who in a large way go together. I met Jenny when we were on a mission together in Cairo a long while ago, and we became close friends. We were exposed on a mission and wound up being captured. While we were waiting for the men who had taken us hostage, she mentioned how she would not care if she had to sacrifice herself so I could escape. There must have been something that happened before I met her that was extremely painful because it made her not care about her life as much as one should. When I questioned her about it, she had this distant expression, or look on her face and was about to say something when one of the men that was holding us came in and took her." skimming past the part of the touture, no child should hear about at that age.

"Because I was stronger mentally and physically at the moment, I spoke up to be taken instead, but Jenny wouldn't allow it, and to make sure that the guards wouldn't take me rather than her she spat in the mans direction, which he took offense to and grabbed her by her hair to lead her out.

A half an hour later she came back, she was not in good condition at all, but she promised me that she gave nothing of our mission away before she passed out and I was taken.

I came back in much the same shape, and found that Jenny was already awake waiting for me. She told me that she would make sure nothing happened to me and that I would be able to get some sleep, and that she would wake me in a half hour, which she did.

The pain was bearable when I awoke, so I decided once again to ask about what had happened to her before I met her. At first, she was reluctant to answer, but after a few seconds, she told me a little of what her former life was like.

_Flashback_

"Jenny, if you don't mind me asking, what happened right before we met? If I may be so blunt to say, and please do not take offense to this, but you seem depressed and like something terrible happened." Ziva asked her friend when she regainedconscious.

Jenny looked at her a moment deciding just how much to tell Ziva. She didn't want to relive what had happened to her, but knew that her friend was just looking out for her and curious, but mostly she was probably worried.

"As you know I used to work for a company known as NCIS. My partner, Jethro Gibbs, and I went on numerous undercover assignments and after a while we, well me, I can't be sure if he felt the same way, but I fell in love with him. After a year in a half, I started to worry about my job, and where it was headed if Jethro and I continued our relationship. It wasn't only the job though that I was concerned with, Jethro was engaged to another woman when we started dating, I knew when it first started, but I didn't care, I liked him way too much to care. But when I started thinking about my future and how he was engaged. I didn't believe that our relationship would ever go anywhere, I mean it couldn't. He was already engaged to another woman.

"So what do I do? I get up in the middle of the night when were on an undercover assignment, pack my things, write him letter, and leave. Knowing that it would be difficult, but also knowing it had to be done, I had to do what was best for me, and at the time that seemed to be the best thing to do. Now that I look back on it, and what followed the 'breakup', if you could call it that, I wish I had never left, and then perhaps, no, I am sure that the event that took place afterwards would not have happened. It shouldn't of happened. There was no need for it, no need what so ever. But now I have to live with it for the rest of my life, because it's my own damn fault that it happened." Jenny said crying now, not even bothering to hold back the tears, she knew she wouldn't be able to. She already tried multiple times when she thought about the events that occurred only a few years previous.

Ziva listened the whole time feeling sorry for the woman on her lap as she cried. She left the man she loved because, he was engaged to another woman, yet something just as bad perhaps worse occurred after she left. She wasn't sure what happened, nor did she want to ask knowing that it would only cause the women more pain. She also believed that Jenny would not tell her what happened anyways, but for her to have to live with this by herself must have been so difficult.

Now she understood a little better at why Jenny felt like she did, but she promised herself that she would get herself and Jenny out of here no matter what.

_End flashback_

Ara was crying as she listened to what her mother was saying, even though she didn't fully understand everything,

Ziva was holding Ara as Ara cried into her shoulder. "Hey sweetie, it gets better if you want to hear anymore." She felt Ara nod so she continued.

"Jenny and I escaped and we did a couple more missions together until she had to go someplace else to take care of some things. We kept in touch, but she was very busy with her life, and I was starting to teach you things, so our conversations were limited, but still there.

"Then three years ago guess what happened? I go to work for NCIS, and who is my boss? Jenny! Well she was the big boss, my boss that I really had to answer to was you ready? Jethro Gibbs, although no one calls him Jethro besides Jenny and an FBI agent. We all got along all right, but there was a lot of tension between Jenny and Gibbs.

"At the time Gibbs was seeing another women, it wasn't the one who he was engaged to when him and Jenny were dating, they broke up after a very short time, but another women.

"Mommy, why didn't Jenny say anything and what happened after she left him?" Ara asked through her tears.

"I don't know the answer to either of those questions. I can guess that the event that happened after was Gibbs getting married, but I am not sure honey. I can tell you this though, Jenny isn't the only one who has feelings for the other, and Gibbs loves Jenny just as much as she loves him. Everyone can see it, well except for them of course. She's as stubborn as you are little missy. The sad thing is, is right before I came back here she was shot multiple times, I don't know if she woke up from her coma or not, or if she is still alive, but if she dose wake up, then I hope she changes her mind about what she is going to do. She just got engaged to a man named Mark. Nothing at all likes Gibbs, and she says that she adores him, but I know she only said yes to marry Mark because she is trying to forget about Gibbs, I believe that she knows she doesn't love him and is only marrying him to try and get over Gibbs…"

"But why mommy, if she loves Gibbs then she should tell him, why is she doing this. Why?!" Asked Ara, a little confused with the people and the situation.

"Shhh, I don't know honey, but I think that we should probably try to get some sleep because we have a lot to get ready for in the following week."

"Okay mommy, I love you." Ara said as she kissed her mom's cheek and gave her a big hug.

"I love you too sweetie and I missed you so much when I was gone." Ziva said returning the hug and kiss before they both fell asleep.

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

The week passed quickly, and Ziva had told Ara more of her family back at NCIS . She also told Ara of what was going to take place at the end of the week and although Ara was terrified, she trusted Ziva to keep her safe from her older brother until they could both leave.

The wedding passed with very little enthusiasm from anyone except Ahriman. For the wedding night Ziva kept her eyes shut the whole time and tried to imagine it was Tony that she was making love to, but couldn't as Ahriman was terrible in the bed and she knew that Tony knew what he was doing.

During the first three weeks, she tolerated Ahriman constantly hitting her and abusing her, until the first day of the fifth week with him.

Ziva was cooking when she heard Ahriman shouting at someone who she assumed was Ara, so she dropped what she was working with and ran into the living room just in time to see Ahriman backhand Ara with so much force that she went flying to the side and hit the wall. When Ziva saw this, her Mossad training kicked in and she leapt at Ahriman who was able to block her just in time. They fought heatedly forseveral moments before Ziva heard Ara whimper and was distracted. Ahriman used this opening and kicked her backwards where she fell into the glass table in front of the couch. Ahriman came to stand over her thinking that she was unconscious and right as he stood over her, she kicked his feet out from under him, took a shard of class, and plunged it into his stomach while knocking him unconscious with another blow to the head. Ziva didn't bother to pack any of her things as she grabbed Ara bridal style and headed to her fathers office. She only thought of Ara. ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

"Let me in, I need to speak with Director David." Ziva yelled and tried to push through the guards who were blocking her entrance to her father's office. Ziva was still holding Ara when one of the guard's radios activated.

"_This is Director David, I need you to pick up Ziva immediately and bring her here."_

Ziva was shocked at the timing, but nonetheless happy as she glared at the guards who opened the door for her.

"Father." Ziva said. Eli was extremely shocked to hear his daughter's voice so soon after calling for her, but when he looked up at her his shock turned to worry as he saw Ara in his daughters arms with her eyes closed and Ziva's bloodied shirt and shorts with cuts and bruises showing on her skin.

"Ziva, what's wrong, is she okay?" he asked worriedly taking a moment to eye the damage on both of them.

"I believe she will be, Ahriman hit her a little while ago. I could deal with him beating me, but since he hit Ara,I will not go back there. I will not put her through anymore abuse. We are leaving now, today. We just need to find a place to go." Ziva said. She was shocked toseeher father smile and he held his hand out leading her to his smaller, separate office.

"I believe I have just the place you can go." They walked in and Eli shut the door behind him, he motioned to the phone while he spoke. "A call just came for you. I believe you will like this place as your safehouse." He said before he exited the side office and shut the door. After a second, Ziva sat down in the chair next to the desk and situated Ara so that she was sitting comfortably on Ziva's lap. She reached for the phone not sure what to expect, but definitely not expecting what she heard.

"Shalom." Ziva greeted.

"_Shalom Ziva."_ The voice greeted.

**A/N: Ohhh, who is it, take a guess. Sorry how it ends, but it will get better. Leave me a review and let me know what you though and who you think it is that has called Ziva, I would like at least six before I post the next chapter, it may be a little while because of the whole soda thing. Hope you like it^.^**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: So only t****wo or three people guessed who is on the other line and I give kudos to those of you that got it. Okay, so I need to give a big thanks to Diamond&Stars who made this chapter better than the original, as she always does, and she did it very fast as well, Thanks D&S! I was not happy with how few reviews I got, but thank you to those who did review; I loved hearing your ideas!**

**Disclaimer: Yea, yea, yea, I know already I don't own NCIS or it's characters, I do however own the plot and Ara and some other little things.**

_Last Chapter_

"Shalom." Ziva greeted.

"Shalom, Ziva." The voice said.

Chapter 16

Ziva was shocked to say the least. Her mind must be playing tricks on her. There was no way that this could be happening.

"Ziva?" came the voice again

"Jenny? Is it really you?" Ziva asked, not daring to get her hopes up just yet in case she was in fact hearing things. There was a small laugh on the other side of the phone and Ziva knew that it was undoubtedly Jenny. "Oh Jenny, it's so good to hear from you. How are you? Are you feeling all right? When did you regain consciousness?" she asked overjoyed to hear her friends voice and know that she was doing better than when she had left, seeing as she was in a coma when she left.

"Yes Ziva, it's really me. It's good to hear from you as well. I am still extremely sore, but getting better. No one knows that I am still in pain, and that's how I want it, so that's good. I only came arounda week or so ago, but I am already getting to work trying to fix the chaos that Vance caused. Speaking of which, how would you like to return to NCIS permanently? I have already contacted Agents McGee and DiNozzo, both of which should be starting tomorrow or Tuesday morning. Can I be expecting you as well? I have spoken to your father and he has no objections to the idea. Buthe said it was your decision" Jenny spoke hoping she already knew what Ziva was going to say.

"This is excellent newsJenny. I will definitely be returning to work. I will leave tomorrow, but I have a favor to ask of you. Would I be able to start on Wednesday, or Thursday even? I have to get resettled and need to make arrangements for someone." Ziva responded while looking at Ara. She didn't want to reveal her existence over the phone to Jenny, and she was not sure she wanted to let the team know about Ara, but she did want Jenny to know about Ara just incase she would not be able to be home because she was working on a case or something. Besides this, Ara was asking Ziva constantly if she would ever be able to meet Jenny or Gibbs. Ziva was not positive she was going to tell Gibbs about Ara just yet, but she wanted to let Jenny know right away, perhaps Abby as well.

"Of course, I will inform Agent Gibbs that you will be returning either Wednesday or Thursday morning." Jenny said wanting to put that conversation off for as long as possible. Truth was she didn't think she was able to face Gibbs just yet, even if it was to bring himgood news.

"Thank you Jenny." Ziva started then thought of a perfect way to introduce Ara to Jenny and Abby, she just hoped that both would agree to it, or at least that Jenny would be able to do it. "Jenny? I was wondering if you and Abby would like to stop by tomorrow evening around, say seven?" the more she thought about it, the better the idea sounded.

"That would be lovely Ziva, seven sounds excellent. I am not sure if Abby will be able to come, but I can assure that she won't have to work, so she should be able to. I mean I am positive she missed you. From what I have heard about the team Vance assigned, they are terrible. Before I start ranting about Vance, is there anything that you would like me and Abby if she comes, to bring with us?" she asked, happy to be getting to see her friends and catch up with the two of them, well at the very least one of them, but that would be fine as well.

"Nothing I can think of at the moment, besides yourself. Unless you want to stay over, I'll teach you how to make that meal you always were pestering me to teach you." Ziva said smiling as she thought of the look that could be crossing her friend's face at this moment.

"Oh, I can't wait! You can guarantee that I will be there. I am sorry to cut things short, but I really do have to get back to work, things sure do stack up when you're in a coma." She joked.

"That is fine. I am looking forward to tomorrow night. Will you inform Abby of everything? I will be unreachable until tomorrow due to the traveling, and I wanted to give her some advanced notice." She asked.

"Of course, I will see you tomorrow, and Abby will most likely be there as well." Jenny answered.

"Thank you, it has been nice talking with you, and I can not wait until tomorrow."

"You as well Ziva, see you tomorrow." Jenny replied before hanging up.

Ziva hung up as well, but she did not go home to pack. She didn't want to take the chance of putting Ara in danger again by running into Ahriman one last time, nor did she feel like fighting him again. So rather pack tonight and leave tomorrow, Ziva said her farewells and went to catch the four o'clock flight to Washington that day.

Jenny knew she needed to face Gibbs and inform him of the changes that would occur starting Monday, but she could not bring herself to call Gibbs up to her office so she could speak with him. She knew that sooner, than later, he would come up complaining about his new case being handed to the FBI, so she decided she would just wait until he barged into her office and started a fight. As it turned out, she didn't have to wait long at all.

Gibbs had just returned from the crime scene, where he had been informed that the case was no longer his, under NCIS director's orders it was handed to the FBI. Gibbs was furious. Never before had Jenny given his case away without a good reason and right now he was on his way to find out why exactly Vance chose to give this case away before he and his team had been able to really start on it.

He entered the office despite Cynthia's complaints, and barged right into the director's office.

"Why the hell did you give…" he was lost for words as he saw not Vance, but Jenny sitting in the director's seat. "Jen. Your back?" he half stated, half asked.

"Very good observation Jethro." Jenny smirked. Then Gibbs remembered why he had made his way up here in the first place. And just because it was Jenny rather than Vance, it did not stop him from asking the same question, although perhaps nicer than that in which he would have asked Vance**.**

"Why did you give my case to the FBI Jen? I didn't even get a chance to start it and you're giving it away? Something wrong?" he asked, suddenly remembering the last time he had visited her. Jenny also had a quick flashback to when Gibbs had kissed her, but she pushed that thought from her mind.

"I thought it would be wise not to start a new case with a team that is going to be replaced tomorrow. Don't you agree Agent Gibbs?" she said as she watched anger rise on his face. She wasn't too surprised to see his reaction, but she kept silent and waited for him to say something.

"I have finally gotten used to them and you are giving me a new team again?" he replied coolly, his eyes narrowing dangerously. Now Jenny realized she had left out an important detail, the most important actually.

"Well if you would like to keep this team, I will just have to contact Agent's McGee, DiNozzo, and soon to be Agent David and tell them to ignore my last phone call. Although I do not believe that they would like that very much, but if you want…"

"You got them back Jen?"Gibbs asked cutting her off "Well, I'll be damned. They will be starting on Monday you said?" Gibbs was extremely happy to hear he was getting his team back.

"Agent McGee will be starting tomorrow, yes. Agent DiNozzo will start Tuesday and Agent David will start either Wednesday of Thursday." She informed.

"Should I go let them know?" he asked wanting to leave before Jenny brought up the last time they had seen each other.

"Yes that would be excellent." Jenny said and watched him walk out of her office door, shutting it behind him. She could not believe that he did not say anything about the kiss; he acted as if nothing had ever happened between the two of them.

The door opened again. Gibbs appeared and Jenny's heart started pounding in expectation. "Thanks Jen." Gibbs muttered quietly and closed the door.

She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. "_Well…"_ she thought_ "perhaps to him, it didn't mean anything. He did say to forget that nothing had happened and that it meant nothing. Maybe that is how he really felt, or feels."_

She was saddened by the thought, but believed it must be true. Oh how much more wrong could she get.

What Jen didn't realize was that Gibbs couldn't stop thinking about the kiss either, but he didn't dare bring it up in the fear that she did not want to talk about it. He believed, much as she did, that they were the only ones who held feelings for the other.

Ziva was able to get first class tickets to Washington, but the four o'clock flight was all sold out, so she looked for earliest flight out which was the three fifteen flight, a little earlier than she wanted, but thought it would do fine. She had just enough time to get the tickets for both her and Ara and board the plane before it took off. She was currently sitting reading one of the magazines that were offered. She looked at the seat next to her when she heard Ara start to stir.

"Mommy?" Ara's voice sounded panicked as she took in the unknown surroundings in front of her. She was scared because she couldn't locate her mother and she had no idea where she was. "Mommy?!" Ara called a little louder, looking in the opposite direction to where Ziva was sitting.

"Hey sweetie pie, it's okay, I'm here." Ziva smoothed as she let Ara sit in her lap and held onto her.

"Mommy, where are we?" Ara asked feeling much safer now that she found her mother.

"We are on an airplane headed to Washington to live there." Ziva watched as Ara's face scrunched up a little as it did when she was concentrating on something, then all of a sudden Ara broke out into a huge smile.

"Mommy, mommy, isn't that where you just came back from? Oh and doesn't Jenny and Gibbs and all those other people you talked about live there also? Can I meet Jenny and Gibbs mommy? Pweeeeaaassseee?" Ara's excitement made Ziva smile as she answered.

"Yes, that is where I became an NCIS agent and where I met everyone I talked about. In time you will be able to meet everyone, but it's going to have to wait a little bit." Ara's face fell, before Ziva could continue.

"Hey. I do have good news if you want to hear it." Ara's smile was back on as she nodded excitedly. "Okay, guess who are coming over to our new house tomorrow to stay over night?" Ara thought, but she couldn't come up with a name so she just looked at Ziva waiting for her to tell her.

"Jenny is coming. She recovered from her accident and she wants to visit. Abby might be coming as well. It will depend if she has alot of work. I hope she will though because I want you to meet her."

"Yeeeeeaaaaaaa!" Ara yelled excitedly which made Ziva laugh. Then she remembered that neither Jenny nor Abby knew anything about Ara's existence yet.

"Ara, honey. I know that you are excited to meet Jenny and Abby, but I have to tell you something okay?" Ara nodded.

"Jenny and the rest of the team do not know about you yet. I wanted to keep you a secret and all to myself because I love you so much." Ziva added seeing Ara's mile start to fade, but was brought back by that last comment.

"I love you too mommy."

"Thank you sweetheart. I do plan to tell everyone about you as time goes on, but not right away. Well that goes for everyone except for Jenny and Abby of course. I want them to meet you tomorrow. You want to know why? I know they will absolutely love and adore you." Ziva said as she tickled her daughter, who burst out laughing.

The rest of the flight went very smooth, with lots of laughs between the two of them until Ara fell asleep.

The plane was starting to land so Ziva bent down to try and wake Ara up.

"Ara, honey, it's time to get up. We're here." She said while brushing Ara's hair off her face. Ara opened her eyes, looked up at Ziva before she buried her face into Ziva's stomach, and fell right back asleep.

Ziva decided that since they had no luggage to carry with them that she would be able to carry Ara through the airport so she could sleep. She was small and didn't weigh much, so it would be easy to carry her.

They exited the plane and made their way out of the airport and to the street to call a cab.

It was one thirty in the morning when the cab pulled up out side Ziva's apartment. Her car was still parked where she had left it a little over a month ago. She made her way to her apartment door, unlocked the door an walked in with Ara in her arms.

After locking the door behind her, Ziva walked to her bedroom. She set Ara down on the love seat on the side of her bedroom wall, and left to get sheets, pillows, and blankets to make the bed.

Ten minutes later Ziva was putting Ara under the covers and tucking her in. She set her phone alarm to go off at seven thirty A.M., before she herself climbed into bed.

Ziva had decided that she and Ara would do some shopping tomorrow to get the essentials like food and drinks. However, Ziva also wanted to buy Ara some clothes since all of hers were still sitting in her dresser in Tel Aviv. She may alsobuy herself something ,but she still had clothes here that she had left when she returned to Tel Aviv.

Ziva believe that she had enough time to get all of the shopping done and the things needed to prepare the dinner Jenny was so intent on learning how to cook, before Jenny and Abby arrived.

The last thought that crossed Ziva's mind before sleep consumed her was that Ara and she were home.

**A/N: Well, there you are, I will try to get the next chapter up before next weekend, but there are no promises. I am still not getting as many reviews as I would like to see. But considering I was close to what I wanted, and this chapter was finished being typed and beta-ed, I decided to be nice to all those who did review and post it. Everyone else should leave me a review and tell me what they think about it so far, I really enjoy reading them(hint hint). Thanks again^.^**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I was in NYC(which was amazing by the way), working like crazy, and my sister wasn't in a sharing mood. But, I just purchased a new computer , I love it so, I am hoping to be able to get the chapters out at least a alittle faster then before. Thank you Diamond&Stars for sticking with me on the planning of the chapters to come, I know I confused myself a lot, so thanks for the help;P Thank you guys for your patients and the reviews to all of you that did in fact review, I loved hearing what you thought, so keep it up. Okay I'll let you all get to reading the next installment, I hope you like it as much as the last, Thanks again^.^**

**Disclaimer: Yes, I know already I don't own NCIS, if I did things would definetly be a whole lot different.**

Ziva woke at exactly eight thirty because her alarm clock went off. Ziva was holding Ara with one arm when she rolled onto her back to switch off the annoying buzzing sound.

"Ara honey, it's time to get up. We have a lot of stuff to do before Jenny comes over tonight." Ziva said while brushing some of Ara's hair off her forehead and behind her ear.

The little girl opened her eyes and bolted up right at the mention of Jenny.

"Are we in Walmingtom mommy?" Ara asked in a sleepy voice looking around the unfamiliar room she was currently in.

"We're in Washington sweetie. At my apartment. You can look around if you want, but there is not much here because we have to go out and get things." She looked around at her old apartment. "Oh speaking of going out and getting things." Ziva positioned herself so she sat facing Ara and placed her hands on her knees and leaned forward with a look of excitement on her face that clearly got the little girl's attention.Ara also leaned toward her mother. "How would you like to pick what we do first?" the little girl looked like she was about ready to jump off the bed. Never before had _she_ gotten to choose what to do and have no worries about making the choice.

"Yea! What do we need to get mommy?" Ara asked already trying to map out a strategy. She was not very successful since she was really only four and a half years old, and not knowing what she was doing hindered her actions.

"Okay, we need food for tonight when Jenny comes over, and we also need to get you…" she said pointing and grinning "some new clothes. You choose what you want to do first."

"Ummm….uhhh….should we….hmmm….food first…right…?" Ara asked not knowing what to do in the slightest. She looked at her mother as if she was frightened of what would happen if she chose wrong.

Ziva looked at her daughter and felt terrible. She was the one who had raised her to be weary of all her choices. She was the one who taught her to always second guess her choices. She was the one who made her grow up much faster than she needed to. She was the one person who made her own daughter not live as a child should be allowed to.

Ziva promised herself that she would ask for everyones, mainly Jenny and Gibbs', help with trying to let Ara be able to grow up and have fun like a four year old should be able to. Ziva was going to make sure that Ara would start having fun starting today, more tonight than today though seeing, as they would just really be shopping for a while.

"Food first it is, baby girl." Ziva said as she stated to get out of bed and made her way over to her dresser. "You just have to let me get changed first, and then we will go to the store." She had just gotten her pants drawer open when Ara suddenly spoke.

"Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom."

"Oh, come on, I'll show you where it is." Ziva said holding out her hand for Ara to hold.

She took Ara to the bathroom and quickly changed in her bedroom as Ara went.

Fifteen minutes later Ara and Ziva were headed out the door. Having quickly gotten ready, they realized there was no breakfast so they decided to go out and eat before they started their long day.

Jenny was dreaming of Paris when Mark's voice woke her.

"Jenny turn off the alarm already will you?!" he said exasperatedly. That probably wasn't his first time asking her to turn off the alram clock Jenny realized.

But Mark's tone instantly caused Jenny to be upset, although in reality it was the fact that it was him next to her rather than another guy that had seemed to occupy her thoughts constantly.

"I _told_ you I can't wake up from a buzzing alarm! I just incorperate the buzz into my dream, which is why I told you to use my old alarm clock. But did you listen? No, because, _you_ couldn't _possibly_ wake up to music everyday. God forbid waking..."

"Chill Jenny.' Mark interupted "Jeez, jump down my throat first thing in the morning why don't you!" Mark said annoyed that she got so mad over such a small thing.

"Sorry Mark. I've been a little stressed starting work and cleaning everything up from when Van…"she started to apologize, but was again, cut off.

"Yea. yea, yea Jenny. I've heard it before. 'Oh work is so stressful.', 'I have to fix everything.', 'I'm being a bitch because I am taking my anger out on you, because, I can't possibly take it out on the SecNav', or whoever the hell pissed you off this time. Well then, quit Jenny. No one needs you at NCIS. They did perfectly fine without you when you were in a coma. You're not as needed as you wish to believe Jenny. Here however, you are needed. Our kids are going to need a stable mother who isn't going to be a jerk because someone at work angered her. Just quit Jenny, and stay home." He said somewhat angry and exasperatedly. He looked over at Jenny only to see anger he had never seen, override her features.

"_Excuse me_?! I have maybe, maybe, talked with you about work twice before today. I love my job and the people I work with. I gave up a ton of things to get where I am and I regret one of them every damn day! However I will not, and I repeat will not quit and let the things I gave up to get where I am today become regrets by not continuing with the reason I gave them up in the first place. I already have to live with one regret that I have to live with and every single day I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from making the mistake of giving up the most important thing in my life." She stopped abruptly as she was about to reveal what that regret was. Taking a few deep breaths and getting off the bed, she said one last thing. "I will _not_ deal with any more regrets than I already have to, and if _you_ can't deal with that, then get the hell out of my house." It was spoken so quiet, but held such anger and coldness Mark literally cringed at the words, knowing he'd hit a sore spot.

'I'm sorry Jenny, I just miss you, and you're at work so late all the time. I know there are things that you have to do and all, but that knowledge doesn't help the fact that I miss you." Mark said looking at Jenny's back.

Jenny didn't hear what Mark said. She couldn't stop thinking about how her life would have been with Gibbs if she had stayed with him. She knew one thing would be so much different with her life if she had stayed, the incident that occurred after she left him would never have happened if she had stayed. She didn't know how her relationship with Gibbs would be if she had stayed, but she knew that she would have been much happier if she stayed with him. Even if they had broken up, which she would of course be sad about, she would still be happier than where she was now; having to live with the pain of regret every time she thought of how her life could have been.

When Mark recieved no response from Jenny for a while, he spoke again. "I love you Jenny and I don't want to lose you." He said still staring at her back, not daring to move until she spoke.

Mark's voice broke Jenny's train of thought as she responded. "Me too Mark, me too." Jenny said softly as she walked the rest of the way to the adjoining bathroom. She knew he wanted her to say I love you back, but she couldn't, not when she loved someone else. Perhaps in time she will grow to love Mark like she does Gibbs, she continued to tell herself, but subconsciously she knew it would never happen, and it was prudent to even try.

Jenny got ready and was almost out of the house when she heard Mark say her name quietly

"Jenny, I am sorry." He said and she didn't even turn around afraid a barrier would slip between them and she would either have another row with him or inform him of her true feelings.

"It's okay Mark, Oh by the way I won't be coming home tonight. Ziva is back. She is having a girl's sleepover at her house tonight, and she has invited me. She wants to catch up with Abby and me and is going to teach me how to cook a really good meal I had at her house.

"Jenny…you…you don't cook." Mark said a little worried, but mostly amused. "You don't even know how."

"I resent that! I know how to cook…someone once taught me how to cook a meal. I can still cook it with no problem" She said feeling anger rise in her once again as he started laughing.

"Really? What can you cook?" He questioned, not believing her.

"I can cook manydifferent meals. When I was in Paris I…." she stopped once again and turned toward the door and pulled it open. "Never mind, I have to get to work or I'll be late," she finished; she couldn't believe she slipped again.

"Bye Jenny, oh about starting to plan for the wedding…?" he started.

"We'll start tomorrow, I'll talk with Abby and Ziva tonight about some of the things that I want them to do, but everything else we can start tomorrow. Bye Mark." Jenny said as she closed her front door behind her.

She walked towards her car and made her way to NCIS headquarters. First thing she was going to do was head down to Abby's lab and tell her of Ziva's proposal.

Abby was in her lab with her music blaring but she heard the doors swish open during a silent part in the song she was currently listening to,so she quickly reached for the remote and turned her music off expecting the visitor to be Gibbs. Abby turned around at the ready, but when she saw whom the visitor was, she was shocked and fell out of attention.

"Hey, Abby, I'm back, I mean back working here back."

Abby ran over and hugged the person who had just entered her lab.

"Timmy! I missed you sooo much!"

"Abby, I've had lunch with you practically everyday you do know that don't you?" he laughed.

"Yes, but it's not the same Timmy! Oh, do you know if Tony and Ziva are coming back? And if they are, do you know when there coming back? Tell me McGee!" Abby said as she punched his arm.

"Easy Abby. Tony's coming back tomorrow…"

"Well, What about Ziva?!" Abby interrupted thinking he was taking to long.

"I know the director called her, but I haven't heard anything since. Sorry Abby." McGee said only to be once again cut off.

"Why do you think Vance has all of a sudden decided to let you guys all come back? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy your all coming home, but what did he accomplish by sending you guys away in the first place?"

"Vance? Abby didn't you hear?" he asked not believing that she hadn't heard yet.

"Heard what McGee?! "Abby said anxiously. The news could be anything about NCIS, the team, Gi…

"Director Shepard's back." McGee interuppted Abby's thought. "I heard she kicked Vance out yesterday. You really hadn't heard. That's so…Abby! Come back here!" McGee shouted at the retreating form of the young over excited Goth that he loved.

Abby ran up to the director's office, but Cynthia had informed her that she had yet to come in for the day. Therefore, she was currently in the car park infront of the elevator bouncing on her toes in excitement waiting for Jenny to arrive.

It was five minutes later, but all of a sudden the young Goth saw Jenny's car pull into the parking garage and Abby, unable to control her enthusiasm launched herself towards her car as it parked.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jenny had arrived at NCIS headquarters fifteen minutes late. She had just gotten out of her car when she heard chains clanking together and heavy footfalls coming towards her rapidly. She had just enough time to turn around before she was engulfed into a bone-crushing hug.

Jenny winced in pain when she felt slight pressure contact her wounds, but the pain intensified as the full force of the hug hit her wounds.

Jenny wasn't able to keep her gasp of pain inside and let it out loudly. Abby released her immediately with an apologetic and worried expression on her face. Jenny leaned over while clutching her stomach where she had gotten shot. She took a few deep breaths trying to ease the pain as a few tears escaped her eyes and rolled down her face, but was hidden from Abby, to her great relief.

"Oh my god Jenny, I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking! I just missed you and then I saw you, I lost control. I didn't know you were still in pain." Abby said in a rushed breath while Jenny was still bent over. "Maybe I should go get Gibbs…" Abby had started to turn but stopped when Jenny shouted.

"No!" she yelled suddenly frightened that Gibbs would see her vulnerable and weak. As she shouted, she stood bolt up right. "I mean no Abby, I'm fine. You just caught me off guard. I'll be okay. No need to let Gibbs know about anything that just happened, okay?" Jenny said it more as an order than a statement and Abby reluctantly nodded.

"Okay, well how are you Jenny?" Abby asked.

"Well as you can tell I'm still in _a lot_ of pain, _but_ I don't want anybody to know so please don't say anything. Other than that I'm doing well."

"That's good to hear." Abby responded as they headed towards the elevator.

"Oh Abby, Ziva is coming home today and wants you and me to go over tonight and sleep over, catch up a bit and just hang out. She also said she has a surprise to show us, whatever that means. I am going to head over around seven and I told her you might be able to go as well, but I didn't know…"

"YES! Sleepover! I'm stoked! What time?" Abby said obviously not hearing the end of what Jenny had said. She was jumping up and down with excitement. Jenny started to laugh, but stopped at once when pain coursed through her. She closed her eyes briefly to fight the tears that threatened to fall and took a couple breaths. She thought that Abby didn't catch it so she continued, the thing was though, Abby _had_ caught it, and she just acted as though she hadn't. She told herself that if Jenny seemed to get worse then she would tell Gibbs, but for now, she would honor Jenny's wishes and keep everything a secret.

"Ziva said to be there at seven, I would love to talk more Abby, but I have to go and get started if I hope to get out of here and make it to Ziva's on time. See you tonight at seven?" Jenny questioned already exiting the elevator.

"You betchya!" Abby grinned.

"Okay, good bye Abby." She said turning around and starting towards her office. She heard a faint 'Bye Jenny' before the elevator closed.

Jenny was walking as fast as she could without putting herself in pain and without drawing attention to herself, but little did she know that the man who knew so much about her was watching her from his desk. He knew something was wrong with her, but chose to keep an eye on her and approach her if things seemed to get worse rather than confront her about it now.

**A/N: Okay, so what do you think? Let me know what you would like to take place at the sleepover, I'm still in the process of writing it up, so things can still be incorporated. Well thank you for sticking with me, and I hope to have the next chapter up soon. Thanks again^.^**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait,**** Two of the most important people at my job are on a two week vacation so my sister and I have are covering for them. I had a 62 hour week last week and I started school this week, so I pretty much came home and went to bed, but I wanted to get this chapter out so here you go. Thank you guys for your patients and the reviews to all of you that did in fact review(which was very few by the way), I loved hearing what you thought, so keep it up. Okay I'll let you all get to reading the next installment, I hope you like it as much as the last, Thanks again^.^**

**Disclaimer: Yes, I know already I don't own NCIS, if I did things would definitely be a whole lot different.**

"Jenny? Jenny are you in there?" Abby asked knocking on the director's door. After a minute, Abby debated on whether or not to just go in.

She knew that when the director got busy she hardly ever noticed anything , and Jenny did say she was extremely busy.

Abby opened the door and started talking as soon as she had the door open, she didn't look around until she had the door firmly latched.

"Hey Jenny, it's six o'clock. I was just wondering if you were almost rea…" she abruptly stopped when she saw Jenny's head resting on her arms which were crossed on top of her desk.

"Jenny?" she said quietly while walking closer to the older women.

When she got closer Abby noticed that Jenny's shoulders were heaving rapidly as if she were crying. Abby also heard something, but she was unable to make out the words being said, so she moved closer until she could clearly hear what Jenny was saying.

"No, no, no, Jethro I'm sorry! Oh god I'm so sorry, NOOOOO!" Jenny suddenly shouted while her head snapped up and her hands quickly covered her stomach. Abby jumped backwards at the unexpected outburst and intently watched Jenny's actions.

Jenny had tears streaming down her face as her eyes rapidly moved around the room as if she was trying to figure out where she was.

After almost a minute of nothing being said Abby couldn't help but comfort her friend who still looked lost and had both hands over her wounds and tears on her cheeks.

"Jenny are you okay?" Abby said softly not wanting to startle the older women.

Jenny broke from her trance and looked directly at Abby as she brought her right hand up to her face to clear the tears still residing there.

"Abby? What are you doing here?" Jenny asked, her voice laden with pain and sorrow.

"Wait Jenny. Are you okay? I mean you look and sound like your in a lot of pain. And when I came in you were having what seemed like a really bad nightmare. You were also talking in your sleep, well I should really say yelling, actually now that I think about it you didn't really yell until you woke up, but…"

Jenny had stopped listening; she'd spoken in her sleep? And Abby had heard her? She was terrified she might have said something that would let Abby know what exactly she had been dreaming about, and she most certainly did not want that. She wouldn't be able to live with the pity.

"Abby! Slow down, you said I was talking in my sleep, what exactly did I say?"

"Well you kept saying 'no', and 'sorry' over and over again, oh and you also said 'Jethro'. Jenny what's wrong?! And why do you look like you're in a ton of pain?! I'm getting Gibbs and you're just going to have to deal with it!" and before Jenny had time to process what Abby had just said she was already out the door.

Jenny contemplated whether or not to leave before Gibbs got there, but seeing as she still had things to gather and she knew how fast Gibbs was she just sat there and waited.

A minute later and her door was being thrown open by a, shockingly, worried Gibbs. She felt her heart start at seeing the worry on her face knowing that it was for her. She looked into his eyes and was captured by his gaze.

Their moment however was broken as Abby came bustling in.

"Jen?" Jethro asked quiet walking up to her slowly. Jenny however did not want him getting any closer because, it seemed that with each step he took closer to her, her heart picked up a beat, and she was sure that if it beat any faster it would start to show on her face.

Jen rose a brow and semi-smirked trying to look challenging.

"Agent Gibbs?" she said and her smirk faulted as she saw sadness and anger enter his eyes before he was able to cover it with a mask of his very own.

"Director, Abby just…" he started to be interrupted by Abby.

"Look Jenny, I have to go or she's going to start to worry, so I'll leave you in the extremely capable hands of Gibbs." She barely contained her smirk as she saw Jenny blush slightly.

Abby knew that a fight would start if they continued using each other's titles. She also knew that they wouldn't stop unless, they were alone, and so she decided to leave…quickly.

"Abby WAIT!" Jenny yelled to the girl who had already exited the office and closed the door upon her quick departure.

"Hmph!" Jenny grunted, not at all happy with the situation at hand, she didn't think she was strong enough to have the upcoming conversation with anyone, especially not Gibbs.

"Jen? Look at me." Gibbs said, but Jenny continued to look everywhere and anywhere as long as it was not at him.

"Jen…" he used his 'boss' voice and saw her flinch slightly.

She internally chastised herself for letting the movement escape. She hadn't been at the receiving end of his 'boss' voice since she was a probie on his team and she couldn't help the felling that was afflicted by it.

She debated whether or not to look, but when he didn't move, and she could feel his eyes on her she knew that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Happy Jethro?!" she said looking at him. Jethro smirked and it almost caused Jenny to smile as well, almost.

"Getting there Jen." He said before turning serious again. "Abby told me that your still in pain from the gunshot wounds and you seemed like you were having a really bad nightmare. I can say that you look somewhat depressed as well. What's up Jenny?" he questioned sitting in the chair opposite of her.

"I am perfectly fine! Now Abby was just over reacting and she must have exaggerated somewhat, you know she does." Jen said defiantly.

"I can see your fine." He said sarcasm evident in his voice as he indicated to her hand that was still placed over her abdomen.

Jenny quickly snatched her hand from her stomach and folded both hands in front of her as she stood up.

"I. Am. FINE!" she ground the words out with anger. If Gibbs didn't know Jenny so well, then he would have missed the sorrow and pain beneath the anger front, but he did know her so he did see it.

He stood up and made his way around her desk until he was directly in front of her.

"Jen! I know you and I know that you are _not_ fine. Tell me what's wrong. I might be able to help." He spoke softly with conviction.

"Nothing is wrong, therefore there is nothing that you could do to help!"

"Jen! Stop it! I know something is wrong, so don't try to lie to my face and tell there's nothing! At least let me know what the nightmare was about, let me help!" he said losing patience at her inability to trust and confide in him like she used to.

"It wasn't a nightmare. It was a memory, one that I've wanted to change for years, but there's nothing I can do. What's done is done! I can't change the past." She said the last part as a tear rolled down her face.

Gibbs took another step forward and wiped the tear from her face before making her look at him.

"Some things from the past can be rectified; perhaps this mistake is one of…"

"No! It can't! Don't you understand?! I'm…"

"No Jen, I don't understand because you're not letting me. Tell me what happened so I can understand." He said the last part softly with his hand still on the side of her face forcing her to keep eye contact.

Jenny opened and closed her mouth several times as more tears started to escape. She wanted to tell him so bad, but at the same time she didn't and the latter was winning out. She shut her eyes and spoke. "I can't Jethro, I wish I could, but I can't. I'm not strong enough, I'm sorry."

"Why? If you want to tell me then tell me! You are the strongest women I know…" he was starting to get worried about what ever this mistake was. At first he thought she might have been talking about leaving him, but now he knew it wasn't that, it was something much more serious, and seeing her like this, so vulnerable was causing him to act so different than what either of them were used to. He just wanted to help her to take some of the pain away from her, even if it was only a small amount.

"I CAN'T!" She shouted, pulling away and opening her eyes. She turned and started to gather her things as he watched shocked. Jen was almost at the door when he spoke up.

"Jen, please?" He tried as a last resort.

Jenny looked to the floor as she replied. "I'm sorry Jethro, truly I am, but I can't, sp please, just stop asking."

With that she left him standing there alone, wondering what the hell had happened.

**A/N: Okay, so what do you think? ****What is it that is haunting Jenny so much and why can't she tell anyone? Guess. Next chapter you'll find out. I won't update unless I get at least 6 reviews. Mean yes, but I want to hear what you have to think. Please feel free to tell me what you want to take place at the sleepover, I'm still writing it so things can be incorporated. 6 reviews and the next chapter will go up as soon as I finish writing it, under 6 and it won't. Thanks again^.^**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I am sooo sorry for the delay in putting this chapter up, I have been sick for the ****past week and have really been concentrating on NOT getting sick. I was shocked to see how many reviews I got on the last chapter. This chapter is much longer than I thought it was going to be. Only ****two**** people guessed correctly on what's going on with Jenny, so here we go…Enjoy^.***

**Disclaimer: Yea I know, I don't own it, ****still wishing I did, but to no avail I don't…yet.**

Jenny was at Ziva's door fifteen minutes late. She had run home and packed and cleaned up as quickly as she could then bolted out the door to try and make it to Ziva's on time, or at least close to on time. She was hoping that neither Abby nor Ziva would pick up on her mood, even though she knew Abby knew she was upset, she didn't want her getting any more suspicious than she already was. She didn't think she was able yet to answer any questions from Abby or Ziva just yet, If ever.

Ziva with Abby on her tail ran to get the door, having heard someone knock.

"Jenny!" Abby yelled and went to hug her when she remembered the incident that occurred that morning.

Ziva picked up on Abby's vacant hug and raised her brows questioning Jenny if Abby knew about the lingering pain. Jenny nodded and despite the pain she lifted her right arm, as her left was still to sore to more too much, and gave Abby a small hug, which she returned gently.

"Shalom Jenny." Ziva greeted as Jenny faced her.

"Shalom Ziva." Jenny said back and once again ignored the stabbing pain and gave Ziva a one armed hug.

"I missed you guys!" Abby squealed.

"I missed you too, Abby, Jenny." Ziva smiled.

"Same here."

A minute of comfortable silence fell before Ziva, somewhat nervously spoke up.

"You guys, I have some one I would like you to meet." Both women looked at each other, back at Ziva, and then back at one another again with shock on their faces, surely she hadn't gotten married in a month! They both knew that she had feelings, strong ones at that, for Tony.

"YOU GOT _MARRIED?!_" Abby shouted.

"Well, yes, but I divorced him the first chance I got seeing as I never wanted to marry him in the first place, but I needed to in order to protect the person I want you to meet. I'll be right back." Ziva said leaving the room and two shocked women gaping at her.

Three minutes later and Ziva came out holding a little girl that looked as if she were four maybe five years old.

"Jenny, Abby, I would like to introduce you to Ara."

"JENNY!!!" Ara shouted escaping her mother's grasp and running toward the shocked redhead.

Jenny couldn't believe it. Ziva had a little girl and she never told her. When jenny felt something wrap around her leg she looked down to see the little girl.

"Jenny!" Ara said hugging her leg tighter.

"Ziva…want to…"

"Later?" Jenny detected a small amount of pleading in Ziva's voice so she dropped the subject for now anyways.

"Who wants to play SORRY?" Abby asked excitedly. Jenny laughed at Ziva's face and laughed even harder at the next words spoken.

"Sorry? But why would we play that? Isn't that one of Gibbs' rules? 'Never apologize.' So why are we…"

"Ziva! Not _apologize_ sorry! The _game_ SORRY. It's really fun! The weird thing though is that even though the name of the game is sorry, you're really mean when you play it, it's really the whole point. You bump other players back to start and sarcastically say 'Soooorrryy'. Oh_ that's _why they call it sorry, because you…" Abby was rambiling and after a while Jenny had to interrupt as the looks on the two Israeli's faces showed more confusion by the moment.

"Abs. Easy. Nice and slow…" she started to be interrupted by Abby.

"Woohh, you just sounded exactly like Gibbs, creeeeeepy, oh do you have that weird mind reading thing going on too? I tell you when ever I find something he just…"

"Abby!" Jenny said exasperatedly, covering the blush that started to rise at having the comparison made. "Now, nice and slowly explain the game. Personally it's my favorite game, but…"

"I want to play!" Ara jumped up and down where she stood causing the three adults to laugh and Jenny to hug her tighter.

A little over an hour later Ara was one spot away from the safety zone, and was waiting for Jenny to finish shuffling the cards so she could draw the one that would hopefully give her the game.

"Ready?" Jenny asked pretending to put the pile back down and drawing it back when Ara reached for it.

"Yes! I am going to win!" she sing sang. She drew the last card, not looking at it until it was all the way facing her. "EIGHT! I WIN!" she landed her final piece in the HOME box with a thud and started dancing around the room. All three adults burst into laughter.

Ziva and Abby literally fell over laughing when Ara pulled Jenny up to dance with her. Both of them were having such a good time that Abby was unable to help herself and stood up grabbing Ziva to dance with her, Jenny, and Ara.

Five minutes later the four of them collapsed with exhaustion while still giggling.

Ziva looked towards the clock and realized that she and Jenny had better start cooking, otherwise none of them would wide up eating till twelve o'clock, seeing as it was already eight fifty four, and the meal took a little more than a hour and a half to make.

"Jenny, we should probably start cooking that meal, or else we are going to go hungry, and I don't know about you, but there is definitely one person here that gets very cranky when she doesn't get feed." She said smiling while looking directly at a grinning Ara.

"I _love_ food, and I want to eat it! Yummy!" she said while rubbing her tummy.

"Yes, we know." They all laughed as Ziva and Jenny headed for the kitchen, leaving Abby and Ara to hang out and get to know one another better, perhaps play another game.

But seeing as it was Abby, she had a few things up her sleeve that she wanted to let the little girl in on, mainly they involved a certain redhead and silver haired fox.

Abby leaned over till she was able to see that Jenny and Ziva were no longer in the hallway, but in the kitchen. She looked back towards Ara and grinned, which Ara returned knowing Abby had something planned.

"Hey Ara, want to help me with something big?" Abby asked quietly to ensure the other two women wouldn't hear their conversation. Ara looked towards where her mother and Jenny had just gone before answering Abby.

"Yea, does it have to do with my mommy or Jenny?" she asked and Abby was surprised somewhat that Ara was able to tell that her plan had something to do with one of the two women, then she remembered that she was Ziva's child, and how perceptive Ziva was.

"Well Jenny mainly, but it also involves a guy named Mark, who's really the bad guy in this situation, and I don't know if Ziva told you about Gibbs or not yet…"

"GIBBS!" She shouted excitedly until she remembered what was going on and covered her mouth. A second later they heard two sets of footsteps.

"Gibbs is here?" Ziva asked, while Jenny stayed silent and looked around the room as if to ensure that he was not there.

"Nope, I was just telling Ara about the team, and when I mentioned Gibbs she got really excited, guess you already told her about him?" Abby explained and Ziva was just about to reply when Ara spoke up.

"Yea, mommy told me. I have wanted to meet you, Jenny, and Gibbs ever since she told me. You guys seem like so much fun! What did you tell me about everyone mommy?" she asked looking at Ziva.

"I'm not sure which part you mean honey." She replied.

"I remember. You guys are like a family…right?" she looked at Ziva who nodded. "Right, mommy, McGee, and Tony, and you of course are the kids right?"

"YES!" Abby said clapping her hands.

"And Gibbs and Jenny are the mommy and Daddy." She said confidently, and then faltered as she thought of something. "How come you and Gibbs have different last names Jenny?"

Jenny opened and closed her mouth a bit, unsure of what to say to a little girl.

"There not married." Abby said simply, which caused Ara's eyebrows to knit together.

"When are you getting married?" she asked and all of them noticed Jenny's face expression, there was sadness and regret, but she quickly covered it.

"We are not going to get married." She said with sadness, pain, and regret laced in her voice.

"But how can you be the mommy if you're not married?"

"I…we…many years…I don't know." Jenny said before walking back to the kitchen.

"I didn't mean to make her sad mommy." Ara said looking at her mom.

"I know it's just a touchy subject. But, if you want to eat then I need to get back in there and cook some food." She said before following Jenny back to the kitchen.

"That's kind of what my plan is." Abby said looking at Ara. "See right now, Jenny is engaged to a guy named Mark. She doesn't love him, everyone knows that except Gibbs, I think even she knows, but won't let herself acknowledge it. So anyways, Gibbs believes she is in love with Mark and that she doesn't return his feelings for her…"

"But it's so obvious that she does."

"To us, but to them, well they have no idea that the other one is still in love with them. Like Jenny loves Gibbs, but she believes Gibbs has moved on. Gibbs loves Jenny, but he believes Jenny has moved on to Mark. You get what I mean?"

"Yea, they love each other, but their blind to how the other feels." She stated, and Abby gave her a hug.

"You are smart!"

"Thank you."

"So anyways, what we need to do is make each other realize that the other loves them. And if we can't do that, then at least make it so Jenny really realizes that she doesn't love Mark so she calls off the wedding."

"How are we going to do that?"

"Well, Ziva, Tony, Timmy, you, and me are all going to be working on it. Everyone but you have to be subtle, you though…you can do what you just did with Jenny. How you asked about her and Gibbs getting married. I can tell that really got to her. It may seem mean, but it's really not, in the end she and he will both be much happier. Trust me."

"I do. Okay so when will we start?"

"Are you coming into work with your mom tomorrow?"

"Yes. Oh we can start hinting tomorrow? I'll start with Gibbs first."

"I love you and how your mind works!"

"Thanks, okay let's play SORRY, I want to win again."

"You would." Abby said before she reset the game.

"Jenny are you okay?" Ziva asked coming back into the kitchen. Upon her return she saw Jenny leant over the counted with her head bowed.

"Yea, of course, I'm just tired, that's all." Jenny tried to cover, she knew Ziva would see right through it, but she was hoping she would let it go.

"Okay, well were almost done, once we finish and eat we can all go to bed, it's late anyways." Jenny looked up and smiled, thanking Ziva for not pushing the subject. Ziva merely smiled back and started to explain how to cook the meal.

An hour in a half later everyone was finished eating and getting laying out their sleeping bags and bedding.

"Jenny sleep next to me!" Ara suggested happily. Jenny smiled and complied. All four of them wound up sleeping in a circle with their heads in the middle.

Strangely enough the first person to fall asleep was Ziva, followed by Jenny. It was one twenty two when Abby turned toward Ara with a massive grin on her face. Ara quickly and quietly got up and knelt down next to Abby as Abby got into a kneeling position facing Ara.

"What to learn like the funnest thing to do at a slumber party?" she said quietly so as to not wake the two women who were sleeping.

"Yea!" she replied just as quiet. She watched as Abby went into her duffel bag and took what looked like a market out of it. Ara looked at her confused and Abby's grin just got bigger.

"Okay, well first this is a washable marker, normally this is done with a permanent one, but seeing as Jenny is the director and she can fire me I though we should use a washable one."

"Why does it matter to Jenny?" she questioned in a whisper.

"Aha, that's the fun part. Okay you take the marker and draw glasses, a mustache, and if you want, but you don't have to, you can add a beard. You want to try?" Ara nodded, thinking that it sounded like a lot of fun. "Okay, who do you want to do first?"

"Mommy."

"Okay, let's go over, but we have to be really quiet." Ara nodded and they slowly made their way over to where Ziva was sleeping.

As quite as they could and as cautious as they could they drew glasses, Jenny got round ones, while Ziva got rectangular ones and a mustache on both the women. They let out a few laughs, using their pillows to mute it and they themselves settled into bed to get some sleep before they had to get up.

Ara heard someone muttering in their sleep and it roused her from her very own, she was an extremely light sleeper.

When she was fully conscious she realized that the person muttering was Jenny. Seeing that she had a few tears running down her checks and that it looked like she was having a nightmare, Ara crawled closer and gently nudged Jenny to try and wake her up.

"Jenny? Jenny are you okay?" she asked when Jenny woke and looked at her.

"What? Oh yea, sorry Ara, I was just having a nightmare, its okay, I'm okay now." She said faking a smile, but Ara saw right through it.

"Jenny, you were crying, and you were having a nightmare. Your not fine, I can tell that for sure, I may be little, but I can see sadness, and I think it's pain there as well on your face. What's wrong?"

"Nothings wrong sweetie, I'm fine, sleepy, but fine. Now we have two hours before we need to be up, so lets go back to bed and get some sleep?" she told, question. Ara saw that she really didn't want to talk about it, so instead she nodded, moved her sleeping bag closer to Jenny's and laid down with her. Ara hugged Jenny, and Jenny returned the hug, revealing in the feeling of a child in her arms. Seeing as they were both still very tired, they fell asleep hugging each other.

It seemed like minutes later, but in actuality it was hours later when Ziva was waking everyone up. Both Jenny and Ara groaned and moved farther into their sleeping bags not wishing to be awoken just yet.

"Come on sleepy heads, were going to be late for work if you don't wake up." Abby said which received a laugh from Ziva and another groan from Jenny, but she got up. Ara on the other hand moved somehow deeper into her sleeping bag while muttering a 'five more minute's mommy.'

All three adults laughed, but complied.

Thirty minutes later Abby was helping Ara get ready while Ziva and Jenny were once gain in the kitchen preparing a meal.

"Oh Ziva, you were going to tell me about Ara." Jenny started.

"Ah, right. Well where to start…"

"The begging's always a good place." Ziva smiled, but continued.

"Okay, well she's not blood related to me. She lost her parents when she was extremely young and since then I have been raising her as my own, as well as training her for Mossad.

"A week before I came to Washington the first time, I was on a mission with her older brother Ahriman. We were sent to eliminate strangely enough their older brother Alvah. As luck would have it Ara showed up right before we were to infiltrate where Ara was being held.

"In the end we eliminated Alvah, but Ara loved her older brother so when Ahriman killed him, she ran out and towards her two brothers. Ahriman, already having threatened to kill Ara if she got in the way, turned and shot her.

"She slipped into a coma and had been in one till a few days before I returned to Tel Aviv.

"There I was told by my father that there were two options I had. One I could marry Ahriman, get custody of Ara, more than Ahriman because I would be placed as her mother, while he would still remain placed as her brother. The other was to refuse the wedding proposal and have Ara shipped to a man in Iraq that sends children on suicide missions.

"I chose to marry him for the soul purpose of saving Ara and getting custody of her.

"At first I was able to hold back and not kick Ahriman ass when he hit me, because he was only hitting me. But a few days ago, I was cooking and heard Ara and him fighting.

"I ran out to see what was going on and caught him throw her against the wall. We fought for a while, before I was able to gain the upper hand and render him unable to move.

"I grabbed Ara and talked to my father and he put me on the line with you, and now I'm here.

"Oh I should also mention that technically Ara's seven, but when she was in a coma she didn't age appropriately so she still has the mind and appearance of a four year old."

"Wow, Ziva I had no idea. Is she okay? Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Were both fine. I am just pissed at myself for not being able to protect her. I mean she got shot and knocked unconscious while she was under my protection. I am a terrible mother…"

At this Jenny scoffs "_you're_ a bad mother?!" dubiously.

Jenny realizes what she said and tries to double track. "Sorry Ziva, never mind, just forget I ever said anything."

Curious as well as worried somewhat Ziva continues to push until Jenny confides in her.

"Okay well as you have guessed Jethro and I have a past…"

**FLASHBACK**

_Jenny was starting to get worried when she didn't get her period after two __weeks when she was due to have it. She had always been regular, but she had yet to get it. She knew that there was a possibility that she was pregnant seeing as only half of the times that she and Gibbs had sex, it was protected, but she refused to believe it until she got proof._

_When Gibbs went out to pick up dinner after they had solved the case, Jenny was home alone and she decided to take the pregnancy test._

_The waiting was terrible, not knowing __whether or not it was going to be positive or negative, it was almost unbearable. She got up off the side of the tub after the amount of time was up and picked the pregnancy test up not looking until it was directly in front of her face._

_When she opened her eyes, the little blue plus sign seemed to dominate her line of vision. Still not wanting to believe it, she tried the second test she had bought, just in case something like this had happened._

_To no __avail the second test was the same as the first._

_She heard Gibbs come in the hotel room and panicked, quickly throwing the tests into her purse where she knew Gibbs __wouldn't look._

_Jenny had no idea what to do. She knew Gibbs was engaged, and there was no way in hell she was going to be the one to break up the relationship._

_She thought for a while and came up with only one solution. She was not going to tell Gibbs because she didn't want him to feel obligated to stay with her and raise a baby when he was already engaged to someone else, and she wasn't a hundred percent sure that he loved her. _

_She also was not going to give up the child. These two things only left the one option; leave Gibbs…tonight._

_She refused to make love and although she knew Gibbs was probably confused, he didn't seem to mind that much._

_Once he was asleep Jenny carefully untangled herself from his hold and wrote the hardest letter she had ever, and would probably ever write._

_Two weeks later she was seated in a bar, not to drink __alcoholic beverages, but for the atmosphere. Everything was going okay, until a group of six guys came over and started touching and hitting on her. _

_She after having just left the man she loved was not in a patient mode at all, so she threatened to castrate them if they did not remove their hands and leave her alone. The guys seemed to have gotten the message and backed away._

_A half hour of so later Jenny was leaving the bar. When she was about thirty steps away from the bar entranced the group of six guys that were hitting on her ambushed her._

_She knew they were not at all happy with her threat to them and by what she saw in their eyes they did NOT have good intentions in mind._

_After a slight face off a fight breaks out. Jenny having field agent skills is quickly able to knock out two of the guys. She had just knocked down the third guy when she turned to fight the next._

_Before she even finishes turning around how ever her attacker as already side kicked her. The timing made it so she was kicked directly in her stomach, there was enough power behind the kick that it knocked her backwards directly on her back._

_A group of eight or so people came out of the bar, and when then guys spotted them they ran from the scene, not wanting to be charged for anything._

_Jenny sat up and an enormous amount of pain ran through her abdomen causing her to clutch her stomach and curl her legs closer to her._

_The group of people come over and saw a large amount of blood on the ground. They see that the women are clutching her stomach in pain and made the connection._

_They insisted that she go to the hospital, and even though she hates hospitals she knew she needed to go, to see if her baby was still alright._

_When she got there she registered under a false name, in case for some bizarre reason Jethro decided to look in the hospitals for her._

_The doctors informed her that she had lost the baby, and asked if they could do anything for her, she said no. after staying there the mandatory amount of time, she went back to her house and stayed in bed for a week straight not seeing a reason to get out of bed._

_A week later her boss called and told her that she was to go to Cairo, for a mission. There she met up with Mossad Officer Ziva David who was to be her partner for the mission._

**END FLASHBACK**

"That's the answer to the question you asked me when we were in Cairo. That was the reason that I didn't care if I lived or died at the time. Now of course it's different." Jenny said. She was extremely surprised that she was able to restrain herself from crying as she recounted the nightmare of a memory to Ziva.

"Oh my, Jenny I'm so sorry. Does…does Gibbs know?" she questioned believing she already knew the answer.

"So am I Ziva, and no he doesn't know, and I don't want him to know. So please Ziva, please don't tell him anything." Jenny pleaded.

"I wont." Ziva said before hugging Jenny.

"Ahem, are we interrupting anything madams?" Abby said, and then she saw the faces of the two and became concerned. "Hey, are you guys okay?"

"Yes, were just…"

"We were just talking about what Ziva was up to in Tel Aviv." Jenny said, catching Ziva's questioning look, and giving her a 'don't tell her either' look. Ziva nodded understanding.

Both the women got back to cooking breakfast and an hour later they were all on their way to NCIS headquarters.

**A/N: Okay, seriously, who hit there head when all of the little things through out the story added up? I would have…of course if I didn't know it was going to happen that is. Okay, I hope you all liked it. Please let me know what you think. I want at least ****nine**** reviews before I post the next chapter. I know it can be done, because I got eleven on the last chapter. Let me know what you thought and what you want to happen in the next chapter.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Okay, there was definitely NOT the amount of reviews I wanted, but I want to get the story going so here's the next chapter. I hope you like it, and thank the few that reviewed for this chapter being posted. Enjoy^.^**

**I have to thank Cheeky Lil' Devil for helping get me out of my writers block and for the last little bit of the story. I knew where I wanted to go, but for some reason could not get myself to find a way to write it. Thanks Stephanie!^.^**

**Disclaimer: own my car…yes, animals…yes, computer…yes, NCIS…uh…no…Darn it!**

It was a few minutes later when Jenny, Ara, and Ziva were stepping out of the elevator, Abby having already gotten off on her floor. Ara was giggling and pointing out the left over marks on their faces while they laughed.

Even though the marker was supposed to be washable and they both washed their faces vigorously, there were black lines still on their faces.

The two women knew that Gibbs, Tony, and McGee were in the bullpen when the exited the elevator when they heard two slaps to the back of heads and two 'Sorry boss's from McGee and Tony. They smiled to themselves at how some things would never change.

Tony wasn't even back for an hour and he was already receiving head slaps, for what they could only imagine.

"You ready to meet everyone?" Ziva asked Ara who looked both very excited and shy at the same time.

"Yes!" she said before she grabbed both Jenny's and Ziva's hands, causing herself to be in the middle, and walked around the corner putting themselves in view of the three they were just talking about.

When they rounded the corner all three guys turned toward them to great them, in a manner of speaking, but when they saw Ziva and Jenny they stood there. DiNozzo with his mouth open, McGee with his brows knit together, and of coarse Gibbs had his brows raised with a grin sliding in place.

"Hey Jen, Ziva, you guys seem to have a little something on…" Gibbs started to be interrupted by Jenny.

"Finish that Agent Gibbs and I can promise you, you will be looking for a job tomorrow morning." She threatened.

Gibbs was trying his hardest to hold back a laugh at her response. There were many things that he didn't laugh about, but when it came to the all too serious director that used to be his partner with marker residue on her face clearly showing that she had glasses and a mustache drawn on her it took all of his self control to not laugh.

DiNozzo on the other hand had to turn away from the two women who were directing death glares at them, Jenny at Gibbs and Ziva at himself, to hide the laughs that were escaping. Sadly though it didn't hide it and the two women did notice the laughs coming from him.

"Same goes for you Agent DiNozzo" Jenny said.

"Except for you might not be able to start searching until a few days later as you will be, how shall I say it, incapacitated." As Ziva added this Jenny let a grin fall across her face and a slight laugh to escape.

Tony suddenly found the self control to stop laughing and turned toward and started walking toward Ziva.

"Now Ziva, we haven't seen each other for over a month and already you're threatening me, what is…?" Then all of a sudden he seemed to notice the little girl that was at Ziva's side and he grinned.

"Oh what do we have here?" he asked while bending down to great the little girl.

Ara looked up at Ziva and Jenny before looking back at Tony.

"I am Ara David, nice to meet you McGee." Ara said while holding out her hand. Tony looked at it, looked toward Ziva, and then looked back at Ara.

"I'm not McGee thank god; I'm Tony DiNozzo, nice to meet you Ara." And as he went to shake Ara's offered hand she pulled it back while her smile fell.

"Tony? Ugh! Then you must be Timmy McGee?" Ara half asked half stated as she walked towards McGee leaving Tony still crouched down wondering what on earth just happened.

"Why yes, yes I am nice to meet you Ara." McGee said grinning while he shook Ara's hand. Ara suddenly turned towards Gibbs with as big a smile as she had when she met Jenny for the first time.

"GIBBS!" she said as she launched herself at the stunned man and hugged him. Gibbs reflexively wrapped his arms around the little girl and picked her up.

"Why hello Ara, Ziva your mom?" he asked as he put the girl back down.

"Um, I believe I can explain that." Ziva stepped in and re-counted the story of what happened before she was first sent to Washington to that moment.

"He WHAT?!" Tony shouted enraged that the man that he had seen just over a month ago was telling the truth and that he had the audacity to lay a hand on her. He was going to kill him if he ever saw him again, and there would be very little that would be able to stop him from doing it.

"Ziva, conference. Jen will you watch her?" he asked looking at Jenny while talking about Ara.

"Sure will be in my office when you're done just come and get her." Jenny said walking over to Ara. "Hey sweetie, want to go see my office?" she asked to which the little girl nodded.

Jenny took Ara's hand and started to walk away listening intently on a story Ara was telling her.

Gibbs watched as Jenny led Ara away and watched her laugh at something Ara must have said. It looked like she was much happier and feeling much better then she had last night. It pained him to see how Jenny interacted with Ara though because he couldn't stop thinking about how great of a mother she would be, which led him to picture her walking with not Ara holding her hand, but a little girl with red hair and blue eyes…'_knock it off!'_ he mentally head slapped himself for letting himself picture something like this. 'The past is the past, it can't be changed' he repeated Jen's word's from the previous night in his head. Perhaps she was talking of something else, but he was speaking of their chance to have the life and little girl that he was just picturing.

"Gibbs…?" Ziva asked watching Gibbs watch Jenny wishing she would turn around and see the longing and love in his eyes that she so clearly saw; of course when she spoke it was completely concealed.

"This way." He said walking off toward the elevator.

҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉

"What was that all about Zeevaah?" Tony asked leaning over Ziva's desk as she sat down.

"Nothing Tony, Gibbs just wanted to ask me a few more questions, I do not see why he did not ask them here, but I will never understand him." It was true, all he asked about involved Ara, Ahriman, and her father, nothing that really needed to be asked in private, but who knew maybe he had his reasons.

"The bossman going to get Ara?" he asked looking at their boss walk through the doors leading to Jenny's office.

"I believe so, or he may just want to talk to the Director, she was not in a good mood yesterday." Tony perked up a bit at this.

"What ever do you mean Zeevaah, pray do tell." He hovered closer to her until he was practical on top of her. Ziva noticed this and despite her heart beat picking up speed she looked Tony square in the eye and flatly denied him the answers he was seeking. There was no way she would tell Tony what Jenny had told her this morning.

"Fine, I wasn't interested anyways."

"Sure Tony, keep telling yourself that." McGee piped up.

"Shut it McGoober."

"Still with the Mc…jokes Tony?!" McGee questioned. And the banter fell into place.

Some things just never did change Ziva thought to herself as she watched with amusement.

҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉

Gibbs surprisingly didn't slam the door to her office open as he normally did. She thought it was because he knew Ara would be in there and he didn't want to do anything to upset or frighten the little girl.

"Jen." He greeted before turning to the little girl. "Ara, Abby is down stairs waiting for you. Remember where you're moms desk is?" he asked and she nodded "Well she's there waiting for you." He smiled when Ara nodded her head once again and stood up.

"Bye Jenny, I love you." She said as she hugged Jenny softly before she ran out of her office leaving the door open.

Jenny was still trying to control her emotions with this little girl and the way it felt to have a child saying 'I love you' and the feeling of one hugging her. She didn't realize that Gibbs had shut the door and was standing in front of her desk watching her as if he was trying to figure something out.

"Yes…Agent Gibbs, something I can do for you?" she asked and watched as he sat down and continued to watch her. She started to feel vulnerable and a slight blush begin to rise, but she was able to force it to stop before he would notice.

"Jethro…?" she asked and he looked into her eyes.

"You seem like your doing better." He said and he watched as she paled slightly.

"Jethro, If we are going to pick up from last night, I want to say again…" she raised her walls as fast as she could manage.

"Jen, all I want is to know what was bothering you so much last night. I know you, whether you like it or not, and I know that it takes a lot to upset you so much to the point where you actually start crying…"

"Jethro, I told you. I am…"

"Fine?! Damn it Jen! I know you're not fine. If you were fine then you would not have been crying like you were last night and you sure as hell wouldn't be so defensive right now…"

"Agent Gibbs…"

"No Jen! I'm worried about you. Are you sure your alright to be working right now, cause I sure as hell don't." as soon as it was out of his mouth he regretted it. He saw anger and hurt on her face and tried to backtrack.

"Crap Jen, that didn't come out right…"

"Didn't come out right?! Just how the hell was it supposed to come out?!" she snapped. She knew he was purely worried about her, everything he was saying was true, but she was on the defensive. It was the only way that she could keep herself from letting Jethro know about there unborn child. At this thought she softened a little and tried to apologize with out actually apologizing.

"Jethro, never mind, I knew what you meant, and I see where you're coming at. I know you are just worried and that you want to help, but I need time. I want to tell you everything, but please just give me some time." She pleaded knowing he would understand somewhat and stop pushing her.

"I can do that; I am a very patient guy." At this she let out a guffaw.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"You patient?! That'll be the day." And with this the they fell into a comfortable chat amongst themselves until Cynthia's voice filled the room by the intercom.

"Director?"

"Yes Cynthia?" Jenny answered looking at Jethro as she waited for her to respond.

"SecNav wants to see you in MTAC, as well as Agent Gibbs."

"Thank you Cynthia, we're headed over now."

"Okay I will let him know."

"Well it looks like we're needed in MTAC." Gibbs stated obviously while they got up and walked out of the office towards MTAC.

҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉ ҈ ҉

After SecNav cut the communication Jenny and Gibbs continued to sit in the seats they were in and absorbed the information they had just been told.

Both of them continued to act as if the other was not in the room with them, not daring to see what the others face held. This was getting to close for the two of them and they neither of them felt like this was going to be easy. In fact they believed it was going to be not only hard, but awkward and uncomfortable as well.

"Jen…we should probably tell them soon." Gibbs said risking looking at her face which he noticed was shades paler than when they had first entered. He also noted that she continued to look anywhere but at him.

'_She must really be having a hard time with this' _he said to himself _'Well ya think?! You're having a hard time with it yourself and you're used to it._

"Jen…?" he said again when he got no response. It seemed to do the trick because she turned her head somewhat, although still not enough to look at him.

"Yes, I know. Let's go back to my office and call them up. We can take it from there." She said and she got up and began to exit MTAC.

Jethro stood and followed her out of MTAC and to her office. He stopped just before he entered the office before Jenny's and called down to the two agents he and Jenny were just talking about and told them to get to the director's office now.

The two of them quickly made there way up the stairs and into the director's office where they saw Gibbs standing behind Jenny, who was seated in her chair behind her desk.

"Sit." He said and the two agents did as they were told waiting to find out the reason they were called up to the director's office so suddenly and why the director herself looked so pale.

"Jen you want to take over from here?" Gibbs asked and knew that she would.

Jenny looked at Tony and Ziva seated in front of her before taking a deep breath.

"Tony, Ziva as of fifteen minutes ago you two including Gibbs and I have been given an assignment…"

"What kind of assignment boss…ses…?" Tony interrupted and suffered a glare from both of his boss's for interrupting.

"We are going on an undercover op. …"

**A/N: Mwahahahaha. What is this undercover operation and why are Jenny and Gibbs having such a hard time with it? Review and let me know what you think will happen or what you want to happen in the next chapter. I PROMISE that I will NOT update the next chapter unless I have AT LEAST ****SEVEN ****reviews. Thanks and hope to hear from a lot of you, hope you liked this chapter and the next one just as much^.^**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Okay, so I got exactly seven reviews, so here you go. I hope you like it, it's my longest chapter yet, and one of my favorites. If you like either Jibbs or Tiva pairing hopefully you like it just as much if not more. Please R&R. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I know; I know already, don't keep on reminding me. We all wish we owned it, but we don't. NOT FAIR!!!**

They had just arrived at Williamsburg Plantation, the location that their suspect was supposed to be staying at.

The team had done a thorough background check on the suspect and what they found disturbed them slightly, but the information was not enough to convict her of anything.

This is the reason why Tony, Ziva, Gibbs, and the Director were currently on an undercover assignment. To observe the suspect and see if they can find any evidence that can pin her to countless murders.

_Flashback_

_ "Director Shepard, Gibbs." SecNav greeted when the two entered MTAC._

_ "Secretary, you wanted to see me right away." Jenny said, curious as to what was so important. At this SecNav seemed to grow just a tad bit glummer, which in turn caused her stomach to churn slightly._

_ "Yes, have you heard of Myra Witling?" he asked and upon the blank looks he got he continued. _

_ "Her husband, Darian Witling, Father-in-law, Chester Witling, and mother-in-law, Heide Witling, were found dead three years ago. Both her father-in-law and husband are in the NAVY, so I am coming to you Director Shepard, to finally close this case…"He paused._

_ "What else?" Gibbs asked knowing there was more._

_ "First, let me explain a bit about what we know. Someone is going around kidnapping happily married wives along with their mother-in-laws. After he, or she, has tortured them until their body physically could take no more, the victim's lives were ended._

"_The Father-in-law and husband were in the NAVY, and so far, the six other victims, not including Chester, Darian, and Heide, we have looked into, have had exceptionally good relationships with each other, and her husband. _

"_We believe that whoever is committing these crimes believe because they had a terrible marriage and relationship with their mother and father-in-law, no one should be allowed to be in a happy relationship in any of the categories, but particularly the wife to mother-in-law relationship…"_

"_How does Myra Witling tie into this?"_

"_We know that Darian Witling beat Myra frequently, and her mother-in-law, Heide, sat there and watched it happen, encouraging her son's actions. Chester, often made remarks on how she deserved worse and if his son didn't do it, he would enjoy doing it himself, but he stated it was the husbands business to control the wife, so his son got the pleasure of doing it rather than him._

"_Myra is on the top of our suspect list and I need you to find proof to convict her. We have not had a single trace of evidence from any of the victims, otherwise I would not have come to you for this, but we need it."_

"_How do you plan for us to go about doing this?" Jenny asked, dreading the answer._

"_I need you two, as well as Agent DiNozzo and Officer David to go on an undercover assignment in Virginia. I know that Officer David and Agent DiNozzo, as well as the two of you, have gone undercover playing the loving couple, well that is just what I need you to do now._

"_Agent DiNozzo and Officer David will play the happily married couple. While the two of you, will play the loving, very much in love in-laws." SecNav finished, watching the director's face blanch white, and Agent Gibbs' face seem to grow harder, but yet there seemed to be something else in his face, but what it was, he could not decipher._

"_When will we leave?" Jenny asked, her voice sounding much calmer than she was feeling at the moment. An undercover assignment? With Gibbs as her husband, and they were a loving couple, which only meant they had to demonstrate that love, which only led to…_oh god_she thought. She also had the little voice shouting in her head _"Your getting married, wont this feel dirty?!" _it was taunting, but there was nothing she would be able to do, SecNav was her boss, and she knew that she could not refuse something that has already cost nine peoples lives, it needed to be stopped._

"_Tomorrow morning, you will be checking into Williamsburg Plantation, in Williamsburg Virginia by 1400 hours. I will let you go so you can go inform Agent DiNozzo and Officer David as well as get ready for the trip tomorrow. Be ready to leave by 1100 hours, it's a two in a half hour trip. Good luck and check in when you can." SecNav said before the transmission was cut. Leaving Gibbs and Jenny in the dark empty MTAC, thinking about what they had just been told._

End Flashback

"Are you two ready?" Jenny asked Tony and Ziva in her director voice, before they got out to go in to the building to register. From the moment they walk out of the car they are in their characters. The loving spouses and family they are portraying and she wanted to make sure everyone was ready. Truth was she didn't think she was ready, but she knew she had to be ready and didn't want her agents, Gibbs especially, to see her appearing weak.

"Yes Director, are you and Gibbs?" Jenny could swear she heard a slight hint of amusement in Ziva's voice, but there was mainly seriousness so she let it go, knowing she would ask her about it later.

Jenny looked over at Gibbs and saw he was glaring at Ziva and she had to fight the smile that threatened to appear.

"Alexandra and I are ready Levana. Now I suggest you and Larry get your acts together and get into character. This woman, if she is responsible has killed nine people already so quit fooling around. Get your bags we have to check in." Gibbs scolded wanting so badly to head slap the both of them, but knowing they could already be being watched.

"Sorry boss…I mean Charles…I mean father, sorry dad." Ziva and Tony stumbled over their words until finally coming to one where their boss didn't look like he was going to head slap them.

The two of them made an attempt to open their doors when Gibbs once again stopped them.

"Oh Charles, Levana, remember you two love each other very much, so act like it!" Gibbs said as he got out of the car and walked around to Jenny's side of the car.

Tony and Ziva were shocked still at how much Gibbs changed, he was being a gentlemen.

Ziva looked at Jenny's face as Gibbs walked around to her door and saw her trying to compose herself. It looked as if she were trying to fight something, she didn't look out of character, but Ziva knew her very well, almost as well as Gibbs, in some ways more so. She watched as nervousness, sadness, and happiness crossed her face before she put on a face of that of a lover would when her spouse greats her.

Ziva was so caught up in watching Jenny's reactions that she didn't notice Tony get out of the car and open up her door, mimicking Gibbs. She almost wasn't able to keep the blush that threatened to arise off her face, almost.

The two women took there partners hand and got out of the car. Ziva and Tony went straight to the trunk of the car to get the bags, but when Jenny tried to go Gibbs pulled her back to him and looked into her eyes.

Jenny was pulled back into Gibbs' embrace and forced to look into his eyes. She knew he picked up on the fact that something was wrong with her, he always could tell, she thought to herself.

"You okay Jen?" He whispered quietly. Jenny knew what he was asking, about the incident in the office, about how she was acting a moment ago, everything that has happened within the past few days.

"I'm fine. It's just been a while." She slightly evaded the question. She hoped he would take it as it's been a while since she was out in the field and leave it at that. The truth though was it was a while since they had acted as husband and wife, a while since they had to, or chose to, publicly display affection. She knew her eye didn't twitch because she told the truth; it all depended however on what his next question would be.

Gibbs knew it was something more, but he knew it wasn't the place to ask right now, not when Tony and Ziva were so close, he knew Jenny would never admit vulnerability in front of them, hell she wouldn't admit it in front him, but he believed he had a better chance alone then with company. Plus he knew their suspect could be watching.

He was slightly nervous, and he could see she was too, with what should happen. They both knew that after an embrace such as they were in they couldn't just turn and walk out of it. There had to be some type of display.

He looked into her eyes, asking permission and leaned into kiss her check. He missed Jenny's eyes close, but allowed his lips to linger for a few moments, letting the feeling of her warm skin touch his lips again.

The feeling of his lips on her check caused her to close her eyes briefly. Memories of a lifetime ago were threatening to break through her barriers, but she was able to stop them when she heard a door shut. The door shutting also allowed her to be able to open her eyes, and allow Gibbs to pull back.

They turned toward the noise and found it was Tony shutting his door after having to go back and get his wallet.

**UNDERCOVER_ASSIGNMENT**

Tony and Ziva had watched the whole encounter and were shocked. Gibbs and Jenny played the perfect happy couple, if only they could see how much the other loved them they wouldn't have to pretend. When Tony realized that the check in deadline was almost there he knew he had to interrupt. He looked at Ziva and saw a look of…longing perhaps on her face. He didn't know why it was, but he knew he had to get everyone's attention.

He didn't want to get killed so he thought of disturbing the by going into the car for his wallet and shutting the door a little harder than necessary, but it did the trick.

Gibbs and Jenny turned, Gibbs hand rested on Jenny's lower back.

Ziva looked at him, but he noticed she wouldn't look him in the eyes. He thought he might have done something wrong, but he would ask her about it once they were in their hotel room.

"Sorry mom, dad, Levana. I thought you might want to know that the check in deadline is almost here."

At this Gibbs held up his watch and he and Jenny looked at it and back up.

_Wow, there so in sink with each other. How do they not realize their made for each other! _Tony thought, but pushed that line of thought from him head as he went back to grab his and Ziva's bag. He was able to carry both of there's in one hand leaving the other free.

Gibbs did the same, while Jenny and Ziva stood watching them, enjoying getting waited on.

Gibbs shut the trunk and came back up next to Jenny and placed his had once again on her lower back. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tony grab Ziva's hand. He smiled thinking they would be perfect for each other, if only they would get their heads on straight and realize what the other felt. _I guess the saying 'Blinded by love' is true. How corny! _Gibbs thought to himself. He would never voice his thoughts however due to the fact that it would break his own rule if Tony and Ziva got together.

"Charles, perhaps we should get going." Jenny asked as she turned into Gibbs embrace and placed her hand on his shoulder.

He looked down at her and towards the other two and nodded. They walked into the entrance and found there was no line for the check in.

Gibbs and Jenny went up while Ziva and Tony waited. They looked at each other as lovers would, and Tony wound up pulling Ziva in closer and draping his arm over her shoulders. He was pleased with himself when he felt her arms wrap around his torso, but then remembered they were playing husband and wife, and that was to be expected.

_Knock it off DiNozzo! She is just doing her job, stop getting so excited!_ He scolded himself and went back to gazing at her head.

Ziva was having a hard time controlling herself when Tony had her hand, but when he pulled her closer and put his arm over her shoulder she couldn't help but wrap her arms around him. She had wanted to do this for so long and now she had the excuse. Of course she knew he was only acting like this because of the job, but she was going to try to enjoy his contact as much as possible. She missed him to much lately to deny the contact.

**UNDERCOVER_ASSIGNMENT UNDERCOVER_ASSIGNMENT**

"Hello. Here to sign in?" the lady behind the desk asked looking at Jenny and Gibbs.

"Yup." Gibbs answered looking to Jenny and back to the women.

"Names?" she asked.

"It's under Charles Johnson. There should be two rooms." Gibbs informed. He was pleased with the undercover name he was given. He knew Jenny always liked the name Alexandra and he thought if she had to have another names besides Jennifer, then Alexandra was ass close as you could get. She looked a lot like an Alexandra, and, he thought happily to himself, he was going to get to call her Alex, or even, if he was willing to risk it, Alexa, but he thought she might kill him if he tried, but he knew he would some time, perhaps sooner than later he thought humorously to himself.

"Ah, Charles, Alexandra, Larry, and Levana Johnson?" she asked looking at her computer.

"That's us." Jenny said with a genuine smile on her face. Not only did she love her name, but she likes the name Charles too. She thought it fit him, he can be a gentleman when he wants, but he chooses whether he will or not. It also was hilarious to her that Tony's name was Larry, not only was it funny, but it was one of the three stooges, it was perfect for him. Levana, well, it was a nice name, and in a way suited Ziva nicely. It sounded like a name where the person could be a perfect angel, but could turn into a real…ah she didn't know what word to use, but she thought it suited Ziva nicely.

"Okay, then. I see you requested two rooms, each one with a queen bed. Is this correct?" she asked double checking because there was a problem early with the booking chart.

"Yes, that's right." Gibbs said, wanting nothing more then to go to his room.

"Okay, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, you have rooms 175A and 177A. Here's your keys, I hope you like the rooms. If there's anything you need feel free to call the front desk and someone will answer. Have a nice day." The women said giving the keys to Gibbs.

"Ah, if you don't mind my asking, why are we in separate building Units when they were booked at the same time?" Jenny asked slightly worried that they were not going to be in the same building. She knew that each unit had only two spots per registry, but there were only two, so she didn't understand why they were going to be separated.

"Ma'am the only rooms we have that have queen beds are the A rooms, the B rooms, above the A, has a twin." The women replied somewhat nervous that the women would try to change rooms, and when she found out that there were not any completely available units for the week, she would leave.

"Okay, well is there by any chance…" Jenny started, but Gibbs interrupted.

"Thank you." Gibbs said then looked straight at Jenny wanting to see the clear reaction of his next words. "Their only going to be in the unit next to us, we can go visit them when ever we want, Okay Alexa?" That shut Jenny right up and it took everything she had to not glare at him. Truth be told though, she actually liked that he'd already come up with a nick name for her.

"Okay, let's go to our rooms." She said and the four of them walked to the map and realized the units they were to be staying at were at the very first drive to the left after they entered the plantation.

"Well, maybe next time we should see where we're staying before we unload the trunk." Tony said, and this caused Ziva and Jenny to let out a smile laugh and Gibbs to smile.

"Next time then." Ziva said before taking Tony's hand and walking out to the car to load the bags back in the trunk.

Gibbs placed his arm around Jenny's lower back so his hand rested just above her hip and started to walk out of the building. He was very pleased with him self when he felt her arm do the same as his. Even if she was going to be getting married in a month or so, he could enjoy the time he had with her until then.** UNDERCOVER_ASSIGNMENT UNDERCOVER_ASSIGNMENT**

He was very pleased when he heard that he and Jenny were going undercover as the father and mother, getting to touch her again, feel her contact, even kiss her, but that was also the reason he was so nervous. Yes, Leroy Jethro Gibbs was nervous, but he would never admit that, mainly because admitting that would admit that he still had feelings for her. That would only make everything awkward and uncomfortable.** UNDERCOVER_ASSIGNMENT UNDERCOVER_ASSIGNMENT**

"Hey Charlie…?" Jenny asked and immediately Gibbs regretted calling her Alexa, of course that wasn't going to stop him from continuing to call her it.

"Yes Alexa?" He was a bit shocked when He felt her stiffen slightly then relax more than she had been before.

"I was just wondering…ah never mind." Jenny cursed her reactions when he called her that again. She thought she'd hate it, but coming from him, it sounded sweet, like he still cared enough about her to come up with little pet names that only he would be allowed to call her.

"Wondering what?" Gibbs pushed.

"Well, I was wondering if we could go to Water Country USA tomorrow. I love water parks and it's supposed to be hot out tomorrow, so I thought it'd be perfect. I know you're not a big fan, but can we?" She asked and Gibbs laughed a bit.

"Sure, let's just tell our lovely children the news." Gibbs laughed and Jenny stiffened again for a brief moment. At the feel of her stiffen he got a bit worried, that was twice in the span I a few minutes.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked.

Jenny looked up and smiled. "Sure, just weird thinking of them like that." Jenny half admitted. Sure it was true that it felt weird thinking of them like that, but when he said 'our lovely children' her mind went straight to the child that was taken from her, their child.

Gibbs knew there was something, but didn't push, he'd ask her once they go to their hotel room where they could talk more in private.

"Yup, it is. Come on, let's get to our room. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get into bed..." He stopped short when he saw her blush and Ziva and Tony turn and look at him. "I meant…" He tried to fix.

"I know exactly what you meant." Jenny said glaring at the two grinning 'children' and leaned a bit closer to Gibbs. "I can't _wait_ to get into bed with you." Jenny said in a seductive voice loud enough so people passing that may have heard what Gibbs said would hear what she said.

Tony and Ziva openly gawked at their bosses. So that's how Jenny and Gibbs would be as a couple. Not caring who heard what they wanted…Kinky.

"Yes, well lets wait until we get to the rooms shall we mom and dad?!" Tony pushed a bit.

That got twin glares from both Jenny and Gibbs.

"You got a double glare from mom and dad my little hairy butt." Ziva laughed.

"Yeeeaaa that seems to happen a lot doesn't it sweet cheeks?" Tony said while turning around to put the last bag he had in the trunk.

"Your mother and I were just discussing what we were going to do tomorrow. How would you like to go to Water Country USA?" Gibbs asked holding himself from head slapping the two by unloading his and Jenny's bags into the trunk.

"That would be lovely dad." Ziva said smiling, she sure did love water parks and slides, but wave pools just made it. She could spend all day in the wave pool; hopefully someone would go with her though, since she knew Gibbs wouldn't allow her to wonder off alone.

"Okay then that's the plan, now let's get to our rooms already." Gibbs said as he shut the trunk and walked to Jenny's door to let her in. Before she could get in however he did a spur of the moment thing. When she was between the car and the car door he lightly grabbed her head and kissed her. He couldn't believe how good it felt to kiss her again. Sure he kissed her when she woke up in the hospital, but it was different. She didn't respond as she did now. It was like they were back in Paris for a moment, but he felt her start to pull away.

_'Damn it Jennifer! Remember where you are! Stop it…NOW! You're engaged for Christ's sake! HELLO?!!!'_ She scolded herself, finally once she remembered her fiancée she was able to start to pull away. She was relieved and sad at the same time when she felt him pull away.

_'What the hell were you thinking?! In front of ziva and Tony?! Pull yourself together! She's not yours anymore. She's engaged to someone, and it's NOT you!' _Gibbs yelled to himself.

He let her get into the car and took note that she looked a little dazes as she sat down, she didn't even try to buckle her seat. After he shut the door he walked around to his side and got in, only then did he see that Ziva and Tony were already in the car, and they were…_grinning_ at him, no it was full fledge smiling. What the hell? He thought as he started the car and drove off to where their unit was.

**UNDERCOVER_ASSIGNMENT UNDERCOVER_ASSIGNMENT**

As soon as Gibbs opened the car door for Jenny, Tony did the same for Ziva, but unlike Jenny and Gibbs they got in to the car and watched their boss's actions.

They could not believe what they saw, sure they were all undercover, but they were kissing, not just kissing though, they seemed lost in themselves.

"This is going perfect Ziva!" Tony said excitedly and looked over at Ziva when no response came. What he was met with was her, starring straight at him with a look of wanting, for lack of a better word.

"Ziva?" Tony asked and she seemed to break for her trance.

"It's Levana, Larry." She said and smiled, perhaps, since Gibbs thought it was necessary to show some sort of public display of affection they should too.

Tony watched as Ziva smiled and grew wary. It was the same smile she used the last time they were sent undercover.

She saw remembrance cross his face so she started to lean in towards him. He of course responded by doing the same. Before they knew it their lips had made contact.

Ziva though, not wanting to be caught, even though her and Tony were supposed to be playing the wife and husband. She pulled away and couldn't help but smile from the look on his face.

"What Larry? We are married, and we do love each other right?" Ziva said while sitting back and buckling. She had just noticed that Jenny had gotten in the car.

"Of course sweet cheeks." Tony said as he to buckled hid seat belt.

Gibbs looked back at the two of them and they couldn't help but smile at him, he and Jenny had kissed and to them it looked a lot more then just an undercover kiss.

They watched him turn around and start driving.

"Okay, Levana, Larry there's your unit and here's your key. Do NOT lose them." Gibbs said as he and Jenny started towards their unit.

"Yes father." Ziva said and went to give Jenny a huge. "Are you going to be alright?" She whispered and felt Jenny nod. Next was a bit awkward, but she hugged Gibbs. She was surprised at how loving his embrace was it was definitely not what she was expecting.

Tony came up and awkwardly hugged Jenny and stood in front of Gibbs. Gibbs surprised everybody by pulling Tony into a huge, of course as soon as Tony was enveloped he heard Gibbs talking. "You better not hurt her DiNozzo. I swear if you do, you won't be able to see straight ever again by the force of the head slap I'll give you." Gibbs threatened and he felt Jenny's hand shake a bit in his.

He looked up and saw her trying to hold back her laughter. He didn't think she would have heard him, but apparently when she told him she had impeccable hearing she wasn't lying.

"Got it Larry?!" Gibbs asked as Tony walked back to Ziva and stole a page out of his book by placing his hand on her lower back.

"Got it dad, see you tomorrow morning." Tony said frightened by Gibbs bluntness.

"Goodnight mom and dad." Ziva said as they unlocked the first door to let them into the building.

"Night Larry, Levana, see you in the morning." Jenny said as they too unlocked their doors.

**UNDERCOVER_ASSIGNMENT UNDERCOVER_ASSIGNMENT**

They were surprised how beautiful the rooms were. There was a lovely table in the middle of the kitchen, which was attached to the living room where there was a nice couch, two chairs, coffee table, and side table. The TV was huge, and Jenny was hoping she would be able to get Gibbs to sit and watch a movie with her tomorrow night when they got back from the water park. Jenny saw Gibbs walk through one of the two doors left unexplored so she walked into the other.

She found that it was the bathroom and was blown away at how nice it was. First it was huge. The toilet was separated by a door, there was a shower, it was only big enough for one, not that she was thinking about trying to get her and Gibbs in it…well it would be a lie to say it hadn't crossed her mind.

Especially when she laid eyes on the tub, more like a small Jacuzzi. It was definitely big enough for two people to fit comfortably. Okay, she knew she needed to stop herself before her thoughts took her away so she walked back out of the bathroom to get her pajamas.

"Jethro, I'm getting changed, you mind as well do the same." She half shouted.

After getting her bag she walked back into the bathroom and locked the door she came through and the one to her left, she wasn't positive, but she thought it led to the bedroom, since it was the only room left she hadn't seen.

She quickly got changed, brushed her teeth and hair, cleaned her face and grabbed her clothes before unlocking the doors.

She brought her favorite night gown. Purple silk with a cover over it. She didn't know why it was her favorite only that it became her favorite back in Paris. Of course the feeling for it increased again when Gibbs came to her house the night she became director and she was wearing it. It always seemed to lure Gibbs to her, okay that was taking it too far, but she felt closer to him when she wore it.

She walked across the bathroom and opened the door to the left and walked through. As soon as she was through the door she stopped dead at what she saw.

She tried to turn around quickly and exit, but he had already heard her.

"Jen." He said, that was it, she had just walked in on him changing and all he said was 'Jen'.

"Ahhh…I thought…well…I thought you were…not in here." She finished lamely blushing fuchsia.

Gibbs smiled at the answer and her reaction. "Ah, it's nothing you haven't seen before." He said as he finished dressing. He looked to her and saw that, if possible, she was blushing an even deeper red.

"Right…well the bathrooms free." She stated obviously. Before she could embarrass herself more she crawled into the bed and over to the left side and closed her eyes waiting for him to leave the room.

**UNDERCOVER_ASSIGNMENT UNDERCOVER_ASSIGNMENT**

She heard him come back into the room a moment later and shut her eyes again, even though she was facing the opposite direction of him.

All of a sudden she felt the pillows shift and one get pulled away. She couldn't help but try to figure out what was going on. She turned around and sat up leaning on her arm.

It was then that she saw him walking towards the door carrying a pillow.

"Jethro? What are you doing?" she asked and Gibbs turned around.

"What's it look like Jen, I wanted a pillow to sleep with." He replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Knock it off! It's a queen, there's plenty of room for both of us, we've slept on smaller." She didn't continue with the sentence but was sure he got the point.

"Yea and that was with different circumstances." Oh how he wanted to just shut up and crawl into bed with her, but he wanted to respect her space so he didn't.

"So?" She saw he was going to say something so she continued before he could. "Stop complaining and get into bed. If you have no problem with me seeing you changing, then you should have no problem sharing a bed. Now shut up and get into bed. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." She finished with an excited note in her voice.

Gibbs was surprisingly happy with her demanding voice. Normally it annoyed him, but she was telling him to get into bed with her, he definitely wasn't going to argue with that anymore.

Jenny smiled when she felt the bed dip. Shockingly she still felt like he was there so, shocking both herself and Gibbs, she moved back until her back was pressed against his chest.

"Uh, Jen?" Gibbs asked, sure he liked the positioning, but she was engaged, it felt wrong somehow.

As soon as Jenny felt contact she sighed, but then realized what she'd done. She knew she couldn't pull away, especially when he questioned her actions. _'Think Jen!! You should NOT have done that, but now that you have think! How do you play it off like nothing?'_ she thought, and then it came to her.

"Sorry, I'm cold, feel my toes." She said and despite her telling herself not to she pressed her toes to his leg. She felt him twitch away from the coldness and couldn't help but laugh.

"Jeeze Jen!"

"I told you I'm cold!" She defended; it was true she was cold.

"Okay, I believe you, just don't do that again!" He scolded and she laughed.

"Okay, night Jethro." Jenny said and sighed, she loved being able to say that and him actually be there.

"Night Jen." Gibbs said and smiled. He hesitantly placed his arm around her stomach. "It's just more comfortable, don't read into it okay." Gibbs said and could have sworn for the third time that night he felt her stiffen, except unlike the other times she didn't relax right away.

"Of course not, shit, I forgot to call Mark; I'll be back in a bit Gibbs." She felt him stiffen at the mention of Mark and knew what she did was mean, but so was what he did, at least to her it was. She crawled out of bed and went to the living room to inform her fiancée of the undercover mission.

She couldn't believe she had forgotten to let him know. He was going to be pissed.

She sat down on the corner of the couch and pressed speed dial three. After a few rings a very worried and upset Mark picked up the phone. "Hello? Jenny is that you? God I've worried sick about you. Where are you? Are you okay?..."

"Mark, shush. My boss sent me on an undercover assignment in Virginia; it will probably take a few days before I can come home. I was so caught up in the shock that I forgot to call you till now…"

"You're on an undercover mission? I thought you were the director…"

"I AM the director!" She started to increase in volume as his tone of voice was getting a blaming sarcastic tone to it.

"Then why the hell are _you_ on an undercover assignment?! Couldn't you have ordered someone else to do it?!..."

"Hey! My boss told me to do it, I can't say no to him. You should very well know that…"

"Right I forgot, ever the loyal worker…"

"Yes, I am. I don't say no to my boss because he's my boss, what the hell do you expect me to do?!" She started to yell, but was managing to keep her voice down so the people above her wouldn't hear, though she remembered she never heard a sound from up there or saw a car parked so they probably were not there.

"Say no, or at least tell me! You just recovered you are not fit to be on an undercover assignment! Hell I don't even think you should be working at all right now…"

"Stop right there! I am in perfect shape to be at work and to be doing this! I already told you…"

"You need to learn to let other people do things! You can't do everything Jen..."

"NEVER call me that again!" She shouted, and then remembered Jethro was in the next room. _'Shit! There's no way he didn't hear that.'_

"I told you already, no one calls me that! I also told you I am perfectly fine and can handle whatever the hell I want to. Now either shut the hell up and stop accusing me of things, or talk to me like an adult rather than a child!" She couldn't help it, her voice rose again at the end to be shouting.

"Damn it! Why the hell are you always so fucking stubborn!"

"Don't you DARE start that again!" She shouted.

"No Jenny, you are. You put your job before us! You get mad when I question you about something. You need to choose, your job or me. Until you've decided don't bother talking to me!" And with that he hung up.

Jenny sat there starring at her phone not believing what just happened.

"Jen? You okay? I heard you yelling and…" Gibbs started, but stopped when he saw her staring at her phone like she was in shock. He walked up to her and sat down next to her. He carefully placed an arm around her shoulder and brought her into his side. He was slightly disturbed when there was no resistance but didn't question it.

"Jenny?" he asked and she looked up at him.

"He gave me a choice." Was all she said and Gibbs wanted to hurt Mark for putting Jenny in this state.

"Come on Jen, Let's go to bed. Everything will be fine tomorrow. Remember, we're going to the water park, you'll get to see DiNozzo and I make fools of ourselves trying to sit in one of those tube things." Jenny laughed at the picture of Gibbs trying to sit in a tube, but it keeps sliding away from him.

"Now, that's what I like to see. Come on." He said and pulled her off the couch and into the bedroom to her side of the bed. She crawled in and curled up facing the wall. Gibbs followed suit, but he face the back of Jenny's head. He was trying to figure out what happened between her and Mark and what the choice was.

It was a few minutes later when he heard Jenny sniffle a bit, he knew she wasn't crying, not over a fight, but she was upset, that much he could tell.

"Hey, come here." He said and placed an arm around her and pulled her back into the position they were in before she left to call Mark and all of this started, only his other arm was underneath her so he was essentially holding her to him.

"Thank you Jethro." She said and he felt her roll into him. She placed her head on his shoulder and her hand next to her head.

"No problem Jen. Go to sleep." He soothed and a few minutes later he heard her breathing even out and knew she was asleep.

"I love you Jenny." He said and kissed the top of her head before he to fell asleep.

**UNDERCOVER_ASSIGNMENT UNDERCOVER_ASSIGNMENT**

"Oh come on Ziva!" Tony complained.

"What? The couch is plenty comfortable." She said as she threw his pillow to him.

"Zeevaah!" He said as he picked up his pillow.

"Toooneeey!" She responded.

"Come on. We've shared a bed before."

"Yes, but I don't want to now. Now go on. The couch is waiting." She said as she made a 'shoe shoe' gesture with her hand.

"Then you sleep on the couch. I'm sleeping on the bed, with or without you." He said as he crawled into the bed.

"You sure you want to risk it my little hairy butt?" Ziva threatened and Tony felt cold metal glide across his hand. He quickly jumped out of the bed and glared at her.

"Ziva let me in this bed right now!"

"Why should I?" She teased as she sprawled across the whole bed. "I like my space."

"Pleaseeeeeee? I'll make it worth your while." He offered and she looked straight at him.

"I do not want to sleep with you Tony." She straight up lied. His face was priceless.

"I didn't…Ziva…you know what I meant. Come on, I hate sleeping on the couch. You know if you don't let me in the bed I'll stand here all night and bug you." He said with a smile on his face.

"Shit! I did not think about that…Fine, get in, but shut up. And keep to your side!" she said moving over to take the right side of the bed, it just happened to be the one that he was going for, and considering it was dark neither one could see so they wound up colliding with the other.

"Tony!"

"Ziva!"

"What?!" They both shouted.

"I thought you were on the left side." Tony said not wanting her to change her mind and not allow him in the bed after all.

"Yes, well I was, but now I'm not so off you go, other side."

"I think you've been spending too much time with Abby." He said and he felt her turn around and face him.

"Why do you say that Tony?"

"You're getting demanding."

"Watch yourself."

"Ahhh that sounded just like Jenny." He said and she laughed.

"And like Jenny I make good on my threats. Now go to bed. I have to get up early and call Abby." She said and turned back around.

"Why?" he asked curiously.

"Because, she's watching Ara." She stated simply. Right, he forgot Ziva had a daughter. He was just about to ask her about her when he heard Jenny, at least he thought it was Jenny shout something.

"Did you…"

"Yea, she's probably on the phone with Mark. I think she forgot to tell him about the mission. He tends to be a bit controlling. He is definitely not right for her." Ziva said informing Tony about the much talked about Mark.

"Wow, there's a suicide mission, trying to control Jenny. Just look at what she does to the boss when he tries. Definitely don't ever want to go down that road…Hey, why's she still with him if he's like that?" He asked thinking she might know something since she was after all her best friend.

"Well, I am not positive, but I think she thinks Gibbs doesn't return her feelings so she's settling, plus something else, and before you ask what that is, don't. You do and you're out of here and on the couch." She threatened.

"Fine, sheese. Hopefully the bossman fixes everything, and…ohhh, maybe he'll even be nice." Tony said happily.

"It's Jenny, in distress, of course he'll be nice, he can't help it when something's wrong with her. It flicks me off they can't see the other's feelings. There so obvious." Ziva revealed.

"First, its ticks me off, second I guess the saying 'blinded by love' is true, how ever corny that may be."

"I suppose. Anyways. I want to sleep so go to bed, now, not more talking." Ziva ordered.

"Yes ma'am…"

"Tony…"

"Shutting up. Night."

"Good night Tony." Ziva said and a few minutes later she was drifting to sleep.

Tony heard her breathing even out and knew she was asleep. "Love you Ziva." He said before he too drifted off to oblivion.

**A/N: Well what do you think? Both guys admitted how they felt, yet neither woman was awake to hear it. Leave a review at what you want to happen in the next chapter, or what you think about it so far. I once again promise I won't update until I get at least SEVEN reviews. Thanks again and I hope you like the next chapter^.^**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: First of I want to say I am so, so, sooo sorry for the long wait. As I told everyone, my computer freaked out and all of my documents got whipped. I kept trying to re-write it, but was getting frustrated, hopefully this time it will come nicely. **

**Second this chapter will probably be short, but it took a completely different form of what I originally wrote, I hope you all don't hate me for how this one ends…**

**R&R and enjoy^.^**

**A/N 2: If any of you want a small spoiler for this story look at my profile picture, it's not much, but in the coming chapters you will see what I mean.**

**Disclaimer: look at previous chapters for disclaimers for the following chapters.**

Jenny ran to the door as she heard someone knocking. Gibbs was still asleep and she didn't want him to get woken just yet, it was still very early. Had she not been so tired she might have realized that the time was to early for Tony, Ziva, or anyone else to be knocking on the door, but she was tired, after the argument with Mark last night she feel asleep quickly, but was bombarded with nightmares. She was still too exhausted to think that it was too early for anyone to be knocking on her door unless they were after something or another.

She had just gotten to the door and had it opened halfway when this thought crossed her mind. Still she was there already so she followed through and opened the door all the way. What she saw shocked her and sent fear through her.

"Hello." The person said and pushed passed her. Jenny shut the door and turned around to see the person walking around the room as if they were analyzing or searching it for something.

"What are you doing here?" Jenny asked when her voice returned. Her eyes couldn't help but glance worriedly toward the bedroom where Gibbs was still sleeping. The intruder noticed and started to walk towards the room.

Jenny panicked and took off after the person not wanting them to get to Gibbs. The intruder hit her right in her abdomen and she couldn't stop herself from doubling over in pain. It was the exact spot where she was shot, god it hurt like hell, but she got back to her feet staggeringly and made her way towards her attacker again.

This time however, the attacker turned and tackled her, straddling her. She squirmed to get away, but when she felt cold metal on her temple she froze.

"You will shut up, or you will be shot, you'll allow me into that room, or once again, I will hold no mercy for you. Do you understand?" her attacker asked with a glint in their eyes.

Jenny defiantly starred up at her attacker not believing what was happening. She bit her tongue to keep from lashing out.

She received a blow to her head from the back of the gun.

"You will speak when spoken to, understand me?!" they yelled and Jenny bit her check to keep from reacting to the pain that filled the left side of her face, she was biting so hard that she could taste blood, but she was going to show this person no reaction, it was what they wanted and she was not going to give them it, no matter what.

Her attacker was getting furious at her defiance; they hit her again, this time considerably harder. Seeing the same reaction, or lack there of, they grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her up by it.

Once she was standing they jammed the gun into her back and forced her to walk forward toward the door. She tried to resist somewhat, but knew by the way the attacker was reacting she knew it would be best for both her and Gibbs if she went along with them.

"Open it!" they demanded, Jenny hesitated which caused the gun to be jammed harder into her back, almost causing her to let out a whimper of pain, they had placed the gun right over her wound, somehow they knew exactly where to place their blows to cause the most pain.

Jenny slowly opened the door, but was halted when her hair was once again yanked backwards causing her head to go back and her eyes to be looking at the ceiling.

"You make one sound and I will kill you where you stand, and kill him right after, there is no saving him if you do not follow my every order, understand?" Jenny squeezed her eyes shut tightly at the increasing amount of pain before she felt her attacker push her head forward with a large amount of force and yank it back somewhat so she was once again looking at the partly open door.

She knew they were not making a threat, she was positive that they would kill both her and Gibbs if she did one thing out of place. She silently finished opening the door and was pushed into the room.

"Close it!" her attacker whispered in her ear. She was almost positive that Gibbs would have woken up when the door opened, but for some reason he wasn't, it was then that she remembered he had ear plugs in; something about the heater was making it so he wasn't able to sleep.

Go figure the one time he needs to wake up, he's not going to. Jenny was terrified now, there was no way to get Gibbs' attention unless she yelled, or was able to touch him, both were taken off the table as her attacker led her over to dormant radiator and tied her to it.

They didn't stop there however; they gagged her first before walking over to where Gibbs was. Silently they took another gun out from behind his back. They now had one pointed toward her, and they were currently lowering the other to Gibbs face, right between the eyes. When the gun made contact with his face, Gibbs jolted awake.

He quickly realized there was a gun being held to his face and that Jenny was not next to him.

After a second he realized the attacker was holding another gun towards the broken radiator. His heart sunk as the pieces fell together; Jenny wasn't next to him because she was over by the radiator with a gun pointed at her, to make matter worse there was nothing he could do to get to her, or to help her.

His attacker was staring at him with an evil smile on their face, one only a true murder could have.

"Jen…?" Gibbs started, and was cut off by the attacker's ominous cackle.

"Just as I thought!" they started. "You two love each other. Putting yourselves in danger for the other, how admirable…how stupid of you! Do you think it will make a difference to me if you die?! Oh no, no, no, no, I will take great pleasure it disposing of you both…"

"You touch her, and I will kill you!" Gibbs shouted and he heard Jenny's voice, but it was incoherent, as if she was gagged, he realized it wasn't an 'as if she was', she was gagged, other wise she would have replied clearly.

He was brought back to the face of the attacker as their cackle filled the room again.

"Oh yea, and just how do you plan on doing that? It's funny really, that's the same thing that female said…oh yes, you know exactly who I'm talking about. I believe their names are Levana and Larry, or as you call them Ziva and Tony…"

Jenny starred, no, no it couldn't be. Ziva was an assassin, there was no way, no, she wasn't even going to think about it.

Gibbs was thinking the same thing as he glared at the attacker.

"Don't worry, there not dead…yet. However, if they do not make it to a hospital shortly, they soon will be. I do not care what their outcome is to be honest. Yes I see that they love each other, but my, oh how shall we say it…sights, yes my sights are more focused on you two. I just couldn't have them barge in and disrupt us, now could I?" the attacker said with mock innocence on his face.

"I swear to god…"

"You swear to god what?! Huh?! You'll get me?! Oh yea, well I don't see you with the gun, really I see no way for you to escape this, Ha! You're still in your bed for christs sake, what the _hell_ do you think you're going to be able to do? Glare at me some more? Well listen up buddy, I'm used to being glared at, so guess what, it's not going to work, so you mind as well save it!" they yelled backing up slightly.

"Stand up." They order Gibbs. He refused and the attacker mover the arm with the gun that was pointed at Jenny up more as if they were taking aim. "I said get up, that means get up, NOW!!!" Gibbs did and was, for the first time since this ordeal started looking at Jenny. He saw that her eyes were hard to anyone that wouldn't know how to read her. But as he starred at her he saw that she was terrified beyond belief.

Jenny listened to everything that was being said between them, she was praying that Ziva and Tony would be alright, as well as Gibbs and herself. As the attacker ordered Gibbs to stand she knew he wasn't going to so easily. It was then that she saw the attacker aim the gun more at her.

Fear coursed through her entire body, she was sure that this person would not hesitate to kill her, the look in their eyes; it was that of a murder who had no soul.

Gibbs stood and she sought out his eyes, conveying to him just how terrified she was, but still keeping it masked to that of the attacker not wanting to give them any happiness from her reactions.

"Walk towards her slowly, you walk to fast and I will pull this trigger with out a second thought about it. Sam goes for if you try anything, and I mean anything, you try to touch her, you will die, you try doing anything to me, she will die. All that needs to happen is the tiniest fraction of an inch pulled back on the trigger. MOVE!" they suddenly shouted when Gibbs didn't move.

Jenny could see that he was trying to find a way to act; she started to get very worried that he was going to do something like he always did. It was then that she saw in his eyes that he had an idea.

Gibbs suddenly thought of something, but knew that there was a very good possibility that he would not make it, but he was positive that the attacker would die if he could get it right.

Gibbs looked at Jenny and knew she knew he had an idea. She was starring at him not even trying to hide her fear. He looked straight into her eyes and mouthed _'I love you Jen, always have.'_

Jenny saw what he mouthed and although she was thrown for a bit that he returned her feelings she was over taken with fear, knowing he was going to do something extremely reckless otherwise he would have waited to tell her. She started to shake her head furiously trying to get him not to o what ever he was planning on doing.

The attacker saw Jenny's eyes widen with fear for the first time night, and watched as she started to shake and bang her head furiously against the radiator. The attacker wasn't stupid, they knew Gibbs was about to do something, so before he was able to act on whatever it was he was going to do, they reacted.

Jenny heard it and it caused every bone in her body to stiffen. She turned her head slowly so she was looking at where Gibbs was still standing. Tears welled in her eyes as she saw the pain cross his face. She watched as he slowly dropped to his knees and in turn fell the rest of the way.

All she was aware of after that was her blood curtailing scream.

**A/N: OH MY GOD! I was not expecting that, I'm not even kidding. What is going to happen next?! Who's the attacker?! I want reviews please for the next chapter, it will be a fair exchange don't you think, reviews to find out what happens to Jenny? Let me know what you think. *she runs and hides for cover as the mob with torches and pitch forks chase her.***


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Wow, thank you all for the reviews. I hope you all like where I plan to take this. I told you I would get the next chapter out to you all soon, and here it is, I hope you like it, R&R, Enjoy^.^**

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters**

"JEETTTTHHHHRRRROOOOOOO!!!!" Jenny screamed as she slammed her eyes shut after seeing Gibbs fall to the ground. She was thrashing trying to get away from the radiator and get to Gibbs. Tears were streaming down her face as she thought of what would happen if Gibbs really was dead. She refused to open her eyes, not wanting to see the lifeless body of him.

Jenny continued to scream and thrash violently.

**UNDER_COVER_ASSIGNMENT**

Tony and Ziva woke with a start at hearing someone scream. They looked at one another as the voice continued to scream.

If they were being honest with there selves, they were scared.

"That's Jenny!" Ziva said as she jumped out of bed and ran to the door.

"Ziva! WAIT!" Tony yelled after her as he too ran for the door, he grabbed the card key to Gibbs and Jenny's room on the way out. Ziva stopped suddenly and turned around, her agent side taking over.

Ziva knew she couldn't very well run into the room, not with Jenny screaming like that. It took something major to get her to scream, she had only heard her scream once, and it was nowhere near the intensity it was now, meaning something bad had definitely happened.

When Tony caught up with her they both shared a look and Tony used the key card to get in the first door.

They both had already drawn their guns when they jumped out of bed, so they were currently on either side of the door that led to the room Jenny and Gibbs were living in for the time being.

Tony put the key in, looked at Ziva, and when they both nodded he wiped the door open. They barged in, and upon seeing no one, they followed where Jenny's scream was coming from.

They could hear her screaming and what seemed like thrashing. They were getting closer when they heard his voice.

**UNDER_COVER_ASSIGNMENT **

Jenny continued to scream and thrash violently. Gibbs was trying to get her up, but during her thrashing she had kicked him out of the bed and every time he tried to get close to her she would thrash and hit or kick him away.

He tried to call out, hoping to wake her up, but she was screaming too loud for her to be able to hear it.

"JENNY! WAKE UP! YOU'RE FINE!" He yelled soothingly, but to no avail she continued to scream.

Jenny was tangled in the sheets and blankets. He knew she was having a nightmare, and by the sound and actions it was a terrible one at that.

Gibbs was starting to get slightly worried when he couldn't get to her to wake her up, but he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

He turned around to See Ziva standing there, worry fading from her face by the minute, but she was still very pale.

Tony came up next to him and began to talk.

"Boss?" he questioned.

"We need to wake her up." Gibbs said and pointed for Tony and Ziva to get on the other side of the bed. They followed, and when he nodded, Ziva jumped for her legs to keep Jenny from hurting anybody, and Tony grabbed her arms for the same reason.

Gibbs got on the bed and grabbed her torso, but more for her protection then theirs, when they each grabbed her arms and legs she started to thrash even more violently.

"Gibbs!" Ziva yelled. Gibbs looked at her as she indicated to Jenny's torso.

Getting the message he straddled her and her thrashing was effectively minimized to mere squirming seeing as she had no room to move.

**UNDER_COVER_ASSIGNMENT**

Jenny opened her eyes as she felt her attacker straddle her.

There starring into her eyes with an evil smirk was her fiancée.

"See, Jenny, I told you, I'm not as stupid as you think. You really think you can hide your feelings for that, that thing! No, no, no, my dear. It is not a secret as you wish to believe. You ever try to leave me again, or even think about it, I will kill everyone you care about. Understand?" He said as he started to raise her nightgown past her hips.

"NOOOOO! Don't touch me! I loved him, and you killed him! Get off of me! NOOOOOOO!" She screamed, terrified that he was going to rape her, she had avoided having sex with him, she believed she only allowed him to once, and that was after an extremely tough case.

"Ha-ha, you have sex with him, but me, your fiancée is not allowed? I don't think so, I will take what I desire, and you can do nothing." He said as he stood back and started to undo his pants.

"You may have been my fiancée, but I never loved you! The only person I have every loved is now lying dead because of you…!" She shouted

**UNDER_COVER_ASSIGNMENT**

Tony and Ziva continued to hold her down as she tried to get away again. They looked up at their boss as her next words rang out.

"You may have been my fiancée, but I never loved you! The only person I ever loved is now lying dead because of you!"

Gibbs froze _'She didn't…she doesn't love Mark?! Who does she love then…no, no, it couldn't be…'_

"Gibbs, wake her up!" Ziva shouted and he was pulled from his thoughts.

He put both hands on each side of her face, and despite her scream of 'NO' he leaned down so he could talk in her ear.

"Jenny, you're okay, it's just a dream, come on Jen, wake up. Ziva and Tony are here trying to keep you from hurting yourself or us for that matter. Come on Jeny get up!" he said loud enough, but yet still quiet so neither tony nor ziva would hear.

She started to stop flailing, but didn't wake so he tried another approach and gently, yet roughly shook her head.

That did the trick.

Jenny's eyes snapped open and she cringed away from everyone, being awake she had enough strength to surprise everyone and pull away from them, all except for Gibbs. Jenny couldn't quite get away from him as he was straddling her.

"Jen? You okay?" Gibbs asked as Tony and Ziva stood back.

Jenny's face showed just how terrified and angry she was. Her eyes were rapidly searching her surroundings and when she heard Gibbs speak her eyes snapped to him.

It took her a moment to realize that she was dreaming and that Gibbs wasn't dead. When she did she lunged herself forward and tackled him, giving him an enormous bear hug that would rival Abby's on a good day.

Ziva and Tony sensing that this was a bit too personal decided to go back to their room.

"Gibbs, we will see you when everything here is okay, just come and get us when you're ready." Ziva said. Gibbs nodded so they walked out of the room.

"Jenny?" Gibbs asked when her grip didn't let up. He could feel her shaking and wetness from where her head was.

"Shh, its okay Jen, you're awake, nothings going to happen, okay." Gibbs soothed and about five minutes later Jenny was springing away from him.

He watched as Jenny jumped away from him, he saw how red and puffy her eyes were.

"I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me. It was just a dream, didn't mean to cause you all this trouble Gibbs." She said and Gibbs sighed at the use of his sir name.

"Its fine Jen, just glad to see you awake and feeling better." He said. They both sat there for some time before Jenny jumped out of bed and made her way for the bathroom.

After the water temperature was adjusted to what she wanted Jenny stepped in and sat down under the pelting water. She needed to think, and the only place she felt safe right now was under the spray of the shower.

She loved Mark, she really did, or course she knew she loved Gibbs more, but she also knew Gibbs didn't feel the same way. He told her so when she had gotten engaged.

_Flashback_

_He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet box. He opened it and held it for me to see. "I said would you marry me Jennifer?" he asked with a huge smile on his face._

"_Yes!" I said a little louder then necessary. He sighed before taking me in his arms and kissing me deeply._

_Hearing my door open followed by a sharp intake of breath, I turned my head towards the door and jumped out of Mark's arms. There was Jethro, standing open mouthed watching Mark and me kissing. Guilt and pain washed through me at his expression, anger and pain that was also very clearly evident on his face. _

_I still loved him very much, but both of us made a choice. His was to date that blond, Colonel Mann and mine was to do the same with Mark. _

_I knew that I didn't really love Mark, but I was happy around him. But seeing Jethro's expression I wish I'd said no to the proposal._

"_Jethro" I said quietly when I was finally able to make words come out of my mouth. He turned away and started for the door. "Jethro wait" I said louder causing him to pauses for a second before continuing to walk away. "Excuse me for a minute Mark" I said quickly as I followed him._

"_Jethro wait, please stop for a second!" I said loud enough to catch a couple of eyes of the employees. _

"_What Director?!" he snapped while stopping and turning towards me. "What is it that you want, huh? Because it is certainly not what I thought." He shouted stepping closer to me._

"_Watch your tone and implications Agent Gibbs. You know nothing of what I want and you know nothing about me!" I spat back at him, upset that he was actually angry with me. _

"_You are right Director! I don't know anything about you or what you want and frankly I don't really care." He said much quieter with more anger evident in his voice then before._

_At this comment, so much pain and anger washed through me that that before I knew it my hand had connected with the side of his face._

_A loud crack like whip sound was heard in the silence. He turned his head back to me. I was trying desperately to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall, but was unsuccessful as a few escaped._

_End Flashback_

She knew that the Mark in her nightmare was nothing like the Mark she knew in real life. Making up her mind she stood up and began to actually take her shower.

She got out of the shower and quickly got ready. She walked back into the bedroom and grabbed her phone avoiding Gibbs' gaze the whole time.

She walked back into the bathroom and went into where the toilet was separated from the rest of the room. After locking the door, she dropped against the door and sat down on the floor.

She pressed speed dial three and waited for him to pick up.

_"Hello?!"_ he answered, and Jenny noted that he still seemed a bit angry, but willing to talk.

"Mark, listen, we need to talk..." She started.

Little did she know, Mark and her were not the only two listening to her talk.

**Kudos are sent to **sdfghjkl;'lkhjgfdshgjhk **for getting the dream part right.**

**A/N: SO? How many of you are relieved I didn't kill anyone off, I hope you aren't put off by the anti-climax, but don't worry the dream has relevance later on. Ohhh, what's she going to say? Will this phone call bring her and Gibbs closer, or push them further apart…? Let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas, please feel free to send them this way, I love to hear what you would like to happen, or anything else. Thanks again^.^**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Sorry for the long delay, I wanted to go back and re-read what I have so far from the beginning to really make sure everything makes sense so far, I also twisted my wrist really bad and it has been killing me to type, it's getting better, but it still hurts like crazy, I'm also pretty sure I broke my middle finger, one handed typing is slow! But I wanted to get the next chapter out to you.**

_**IMPORTANT!!!**_**Please, even if you don't normally, read the authors note at the end of the chapter, and leave a review telling me what you think.**

**ENJOY^.^**

_**Last Chapter: **__She walked back into the bedroom and grabbed her phone avoiding Gibbs' gaze the whole time._

_ She walked back into the bathroom and went into where the toilet was separated from the rest of the room. After locking the door, she dropped against the door and sat down on the floor. _

_ She pressed speed dial three and waited for him to pick up._

_ "Hello?!" he answered, and Jenny noted that he still seemed a bit angry, but willing to talk._

_ "Mark, listen, we need to talk..." She started._

_ Little did she know, Mark and her were not the only two listening to her talk. _

_**Current Chapter:**_

__Gibbs was weary of Jenny's actions as she spent over an hour in the shower and came back into the room avoiding him the whole time before abruptly turning back into the bathroom.

He saw that she had grabbed her phone and figured she was going to call Mark, but he wasn't positive on exactly what she was going to say. Curiosity got the better of him and he followed Jenny after a minute.

Hearing her voice float out from the closed toilet room he silently walked over to it and listened to her.

_"Mark, listen, we need to talk..." She started._

_ "I told you everything last night Jenny, I'm standing by what I said, so if your calling then you must have made a choice, lets have it…" _

She detected a note of weariness and anger, but also hope in his voice. She was slightly angry with herself that she was going to have to crush that hope somewhat.

"Listen, I know what you said last night, but you have to give me something here…" She started, but he overtook her.

"_No Jenny, I'm sick of it! You always put that damn job of yours before anything else, I mean you almost got yourself _killed_ a while back because of it…"_

"Hey! That was NOT because of the job…" She started to defend.

"_You were ordered there were you not?!" He demanded._

"No, I wasn't, I was ordered to attend a funeral there for a guy I used to work with many years ago…"

"_How the hell do you get shot three times at a funeral?!"_

"If you want to know, I will tell you, but you need to let me finish okay?!" She said starting to lose patience.

"_Go ahead."_

"Thank you. I was signing the sheet when I heard a word that only three people knew, one of them was the man I was attending the funeral for, the other was, well someone else…"

"_Who?"_

"It doesn't matter…"

"_who?!"_ He demanded louder this time, Jenny was frustrated beyond belief that she even had to explain this to him, but if she was going to try to salvage this relationship then she needed to share some secrets, but this was not one of them, anything to do with Gibbs she was going to keep to herself.

If she had to relive anything to do with him being in danger or about their past, she didn't think she would have the desire to even attempt to save the relationship.

Truth was, the only reason she was doing it now was because she loved, well liked a lot, that much the dream clarified, Mark and seeing as she knew Gibbs didn't return her feelings she thought she still had the right to be happy.

"I said it doesn't matter! Anyways, I heard the word and knew I was in trouble, but not just me, my other partner as well. I was trying to protect him and myself, but I didn't want to bring him out to L.A, or away from whatever it was he was doing.

"I sent my security team away and called a…friend for some help. We were doing pretty well, but he went out to get some water for some tea. The guys came, I got them, but they got me. Franks came back saw I was pretty beat up, he tried to help, but I told him my security detail was on the way and he needed to get back home. He doesn't have the best standing with my boss.

"He argued at first, but I told him I'd be fine. As soon as I heard his tires squeal, I heard a door slam, but I was too far gone to be able to register what was what.

"I heard a voice, thought it was my old partner, I couldn't tell you how relieved I was, that he was there, that he came after all to save me…I mean, well you see. It wasn't because of the job, it was because of my stupidity…" she couldn't believe she slipped again; hopefully Mark didn't pick up on it.

"_It was still because of your job that you were placed in the situation. Look, Jen…"_

"Don't call me that!" Again, why did she do that! Honestly she knew it was because that was what Gibbs called her, it was like her being able to call him Jethro, sometimes even Leroy, they let each other have their names for the other, no one else was supposed to.

She knew Gibbs let Mann call him Jethro, she could understand it, he moved on, but she couldn't, not completely, only him being allowed to call her that was special, intimate sort of. Ah, who was she kidding, old habits die hard, but still, it was special to her, it was her way to keep him in her life, to keep his spot open in a manner of speaking.

"_Why can't I call you that?! I heard your agent, what's his name…you know that one that was at the hospital…"_

"Gibbs?"

"_Yea him, you allow him to call you that…"_

"He calls me that because it's what he's used to, we used to work together a long time ago, I'm used to it now, but I don't want other people calling me that, only he's…"

"_Only he's what?" _Oh could she hear the implications in his voice.

"Only he's able to call me that because I'm used to it, I don't mind it, but I hate it when other people call me that." She answered skimming the truth as lightly as possible.

"_Fine, look Jenny, I want this to work, but like I said, you need to think a bit about where your priorities lie. I mean I'm going to be your husband. You're going to be needed, one day we'll have kids that are going to need to know their mother is safe you know?" _He asked and she stayed silent_ "Right?"_ He asked again.

"I uh…I don't know Mark, I want kids, really I do, but something happened awhile back…I just don't know if I can handle it again…" She revealed realizing how close she was to crying.

"_What does that mean Jenny?" _Mark asked hesitantly, he had no idea she was crying, wasn't sure what to listen for from her_. "Jenny, did you…" _he asked when she stayed silent.

"Did I what Mark?! Huh?! Loose my child! Is that what you're asking?!" she yelled letting anger take over rather than pain. "If that's it, then yes Mark! My little girl didn't even get a chance, so you can see why I'm hesitant on wanting to have kids; I cannot go through that again!!!" She said a little quieter before snapping her phone shut and turning it off, thanking god that she took the phone into the bathroom so Gibbs wouldn't hear her. Little did she know, he could hear every word.

**A/N: So? What do you think, please don't hate me, I promise by the end of the story you will like me. **

**A/N 2: Curious, how many people looked at my profile picture for the mini-spoiler for this story? If you did, you should say in your review what you think it means, it would make my day :P**

_**THE MESSAGE**_**: Okay, I was asked if I could do the dream Jenny had two chapters back as if it wasn't a dream at all, but that it really happened. What I want to know is if I worked on it (It'd be a one-shot) and posted it as sort of an alternate ending to the story, who would read it and review? I want to know if there is anyone else that would like me to do that, just leave an answer of yes or no in your review, and even if you don't want to review, just let me know. Thanks!**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: I am sooooo sorry for the long delay in updating this chapter, I had midterms last week, and I had writers block as well, terrible combination. Anyways, thanks TomorrowNeverCame for letting me bounce ideas off of her and asking me questions to get my brain moving, THANKS!!!!**

**Hopefully this will cheer you up somewhat, I have started two other fics, a chapter is written for each one, but I won't update them until I get a few more chapters written for each one, that way you won't have to wait forever between updates like you do in this one, and sorry for that once again. They are both going to be JIBBS fics, so hope that makes you happy**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, wish I did!**

_**Last Chapter:**_

"_Did I what Mark?! Huh?! Loose my child! Is that what you're asking?!" she yelled letting anger take over rather than pain. "If that's it, then yes Mark! My little girl didn't even get a chance, so you can see why I'm hesitant on wanting to have kids; I cannot go through that again!!!" She said a little quieter before snapping her phone shut and turning it off, thanking god that she took the phone into the bathroom so Gibbs wouldn't hear her. Little did she know, he could hear every word._

_**Current Chapter:**_

Gibbs couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew something was bothering her, had been for a while, but he only started to really notice it a few days ago in her office. Now he knew why she hadn't wanted to tell him, he felt terrible for trying to push her into telling him.

He would never want to relieve Kelly's death, let alone tell anyone about it that didn't need to know or ask. Yet that was exactly what he was demanding of her.

At the same time though, he would be lying if he didn't say he felt betrayed somewhat. Sure, they hadn't been an item since Paris, but he still loved her…

_'Don't!' _he scolded himself, _'Don't think about that, she's getting married in a few months, let her go!'_ But, no matter how hard he tried, or would try he knew he wouldn't be able to stop feeling for her. He could however, try to think about her _less_.

Not wanting Jenny to catch him eavesdropping on a private conversation, Gibbs silently walked back into the bedroom, and finished making the bed before walking out into the kitchen to try and find something they could eat.

He couldn't get the image of a pregnant Jenny from his mind, when they were in Serbia, he had often thought about what it would be like to start a family with Jenny, but now, knowing some _guy_ had gotten her pregnant and almost started a family with her, made the images that much harder to deal with, and that much more visual.

He was positive she had gotten pregnant after Paris, not only because of the way she acted when kids were in the picture, but she had said a while back, which didn't mean nine years ago.

He couldn't believe she had moved on so quick, well it wasn't really quick, six years is a long time, but still!

Of course, he couldn't really say anything without being hypocritical, he had gotten married, yes, he was engaged before the mission, but he had called it off a week before Jenny had left him. He was going to purpose to Jenny, but before he had gotten the opportunity she had left, leaving Gibbs to go back and apologize to Stephanie and take her back.

That was probably the reason Stephanie was always so territorial and angry when she was around Jenny, she never had proof, but she was smart and knew how to connect dots.

He was mulling over everything, when he heard the bedroom door close. Collecting himself, and putting on his 'Gibbs' mask he turned around and what he saw almost made him return to Jethro mode.

Jenny's eyes were watery, and her face was slightly blotchy, but not much, just enough to know she had shed a few tears. Knowing he shouldn't, but unable to stop himself he started to walk towards her.

He saw her head bow and her shoulders heave slightly.

"Jen…Jen, is everything alright?" He knew it wasn't, but he also didn't want her to know he knew what she was talking to Mark about, at the same time though, he wanted her to tell him about her conversation.

"Yes, everything's fine, I was just telling Mark about…something…" she drifted off realizing how close she came to revealing her secret to him.

"Ah, anything important?" He asked shooting for nonchalant as he turned around and started making sandwiches for the two of them.

"No, nothing important, just a misunderstanding, that's all." She said when he turned back around.

He indicated to her eye that she knew was twitching and walked into the bedroom to gather their thing they would need for the water park.

Jenny knew he knew she was lying, but was relieved when he didn't push her to tell him the truth.

A minute later, Jenny was eating her sandwich when Gibbs came out holding their pre-packed bags for the water park.

"You ready to go get Tony and Ziva?" He asked, knowing not to push her now. He knew how much she loved water parks, and he didn't want to ruin her day and make it any worse than it already was. The least he could do was let her have some fun.

"Yeah, just let me grab my shoes and the keycard." She said while grabbing the items. She quickly put her flip flops on and walked to the door where her purse was. "Okay, I'm ready, let's go!" She said with excitement at going to the water park.

Gibbs couldn't help the smile that crossed his face at her excitement as he followed her out of the room and towards Tony and Ziva's.

The four of them, after waiting for Tony to pack his bag, not having done it the night before, left for Water Country USA fifteen minutes later.

**UNDERCOVER_WATER_PARK**______________**UNDERCOVER_WATER_PARK**

After four hours at the water park they had ridden all of the rides they could that had reasonable lines. Jenny, having protested adamantly about leaving the park just yet, asked if anyone wanted to go to something they hadn't been yet.

Ziva had jumped at the question and said she wanted to go to the wave pool, which is why they were currently there, Tony and Ziva in the pool, while Jenny and Gibbs were seated in the reclining lawn chairs around the pool.

Jenny was exhausted, both emotionally and physically. Damn desk job, making her out of shape, but more than physically drained she was emotionally drained, well technically, her emotions were so heightened, that they were making her exhausted.

She hadn't even ridden that many rides with Gibbs, but seeing him soaked and his hair plastered to his face after coming up from the water after going under with the rides she had ridden with him was enough to arose anyone, well maybe not anyone, but certainly her.

That however, she could deal with, what she couldn't handle was that plus all of the physical contact she was having with Gibbs when they were in line or walking to a ride, once they were on them, she was too focused on the thrill of the ride than him behind her, though just barely.

They had to play the loving couple, and playing the loving couple meant public displays of affection. They knew their suspect was at the park, they had seen her at the first ride they had gone to.

She knew it was possible they could have already been targeted, but she also knew she may have been observing them, seeing if she should or shouldn't go through with them. That meant that they couldn't just ignore the fact they were supposed to display their affection for one another.

At first, Jenny didn't even notice Myra was behind them in line until she felt Gibbs' arms wrap around her torso and pull her against him.

She stopped breathing and held her breath as she felt him kiss her neck, so overwhelmed with the feeling of him kissing her neck, she didn't think about anything, instead she let her head fall back onto his shoulder with a soft moan giving him better access.

She felt Gibbs stop a minute and was brought back to reality. Mortified her eyes snapped open and she started to pull away, but his arms tightened around her bringing her closer and firmer against his torso.

"Jen, Myra Witling's here, a couple people back." He whispered in her ear.

When she felt him pull he firmer against him she couldn't explain the feeling, to increase the effect he was having on her though, he started talking into her ear and his breath caressed her neck she couldn't resist closing her eyes and biting back the groan of pleasure.

'_You're engaged, he's undercover doing what he's supposed to, don't let it affect you so much Jennifer!'_ She scolded, and felt guilty a second about Mark, but when he started talking again all guilt was washed from her thought process. _'I don't care if he's just acting, it feels damn good!'_ She told her inner self as she forced herself to listen.

"Ziva and Tony?" She asked back enjoying the feeling of him behind her; they still fit so well together…

"They know, their acting the loving couple, but there's still quite a line in front of us, so we are either going to have to continuing like this, or go towards another ride, your choice." He said, hoping she wanted to stay, even if she was getting married in a few months, he was going to enjoy what time he had with her till another man had the chance to hold her as he was.

"We can stay; she might get suspicious if we leave; besides I really want to ride this ride!" She said leaning against him a bit more playing the role as his loving wife.

"Okay, let me tell the other two." He said as he released her and turned around to fill Tony and Ziva in.

Jenny couldn't believe how much she missed his embrace, but she didn't have to dwell long, because a second later he was pulling her towards him again. Immediately she relaxed into his hold and leaned against him.

"So Mrs. Johnson excited?" Gibbs asked and she let a soft chuckle out at his tone.

"Oh very much so Mr. Johnson, are the kids?" She asked back and Gibbs froze remembering the conversation he'd overheard that morning.

"Jethro, is everything alright?" Jenny worriedly asked when she felt him stiffen slightly.

"Yea, just remembering something I heard." He said and it was his turn to feel her stiffen.

"Jen?" He asked hoping she hadn't made the connection.

"What did you overhear?" She asked, her voice showing she was on guard.

Gibbs thought fast as he felt her pulling away slightly so she could turn around and face him.

"Just something SecNav said about Myra…"

"Which was?" she asked thinking he was lying.

"That once she targets someone, she takes them within too days." He said looking into her eyes willing her to believe the lie and not ask questions. However, he saw she had the look on her face that said she didn't believe him and she wasn't letting go.

He sighed and put one hand on her hip, the other on her face. "Later." was all he said before leaning in to kiss her deeply. At first he felt her start to push him away, but it was only momentary, he soon felt both her arms encircle his neck and pull him closer.

Knowing there were children around them, he pulled back before he got too carried away. When he pulled back the first thing he noticed was her eyes were still closed, second was her arms still around his neck. Of course a second later and her eyes opened, but her arms didn't release there hold.

Jenny tried to hold off the emotions coursing through her as he kissed her, but the fight was futile, she gave in and kissed him back. A while later she felt him pull back, but she kept her eyes closed a moment to regain her composer.

She opened her eyes and starred straight into his eyes, where were masked, but he was smiling. "Later." She told him raising her eyebrow to try and challenge it, when he didn't she turned around just in time to start walking forward.

Through out the day, there were multiple interactions like the first, a few more kisses, and constant contact between her and Gibbs, and Ziva and Tony.

Ziva and Tony had been watching Jenny and Gibbs' interactions between each other the whole day. They knew Myra was there, so they themselves were displaying affection, but the way that Jenny and Gibbs interacted was so much different from them.

It was either strained or second nature to their actions.

Currently Tony was trying to dunk Ziva under the water in the wave pool…trying being the operative word. Ziva was currently the one winning. After successfully dunking Tony ten times, Ziva stopped and held up her hand when Tony came near her.

Tony watched as a smirk crossed Ziva's face as she looked at their boss and boss' boss. He watched as she turned towards him and approach, thinking she was going to dunk him again, he started to step back. Ziva sensing it lunged forward in to his outstretched yielding arms to stop him from getting away.

He stopped and watched as she leaned in towards him. A minute later and he was hearing her scheming voice. After hearing her plan a grin spread across Tony's face as they looked at each other and put their plan into action.

After hours of holding her emotions in check, Jenny was exhausted. She was perfectly content to lie back and relax, while letting her mind wander.

She was drifting off to sleep when she felt a sudden surge of water flow onto her stomach. Snapping her eyes open and squealing from the cold of the water, cold compared to the sun on her skin, she saw Ziva turning around and running towards the wave pool with Tony right behind her.

Jenny jumped out of her chair and started chasing the perpetrator. As soon as she got into the water and close to them they started splashing her viciously, she not wanting them to beat her, joined in on the splashing war, trying to splash and dodge the water at the same time.

After a few moments Jenny was warn out, as well as Tony and Ziva it looked like, she looked at her self and knew she was soaked. Then an idea popped into her head. She quickly went under the water and came up again pulling her hair back out of her face.

She looked at Ziva and Tony who looked as if they were waiting for her to do something, but when she grinned and put her finger to her mouth in a shushing motion and started to walk back out of the pool, they both looked at her with wonder, dread admiration, and remorse on their faces. They couldn't believe what she was about to do.

She either had a lot of guts, or was just plain stupid!

Gibbs started when he heard Jenny squeal and watched as she chased Ziva and Tony into the pool and joined in the splashing war.

Gibbs was daydreaming about Jenny and a little girl playing in a pool, jenny splashing the little girl as she squealed and giggled, Jenny laughing all the while, making sure not to hurt the little girl.

He was so deep into his day dream that he didn't notice Jenny standing right above him.

Jenny's grin grew as Gibbs stayed where he was and didn't make a move to notify he knew what she was planning, of course he was wearing sunglasses, as she was when Ziva attacked her, so she couldn't quite be sure.

When she was standing right above him and he didn't look towards her, she thought it was safe.

She grabbed her hair and rung it over his torso, shaking it a bit to get his legs as well. When she saw him jump and snap his head in her direction, she ran!

When Gibbs felt water pour onto his chest and legs he jumped and turned his head sharply to see Jenny's eyes wind open and a grin larger than he had seen in years across her face.

He watched as she bolted away from the scene and towards the pool, he jumped up and quickly ran after her.

When he was knee length in the water he reached out and grabbed her around her waist pulling her to him and spinning around as he went further into the water.

Jenny heard him behind her as she ran into the water and knew he was going to get her, still though she tried to get away. She felt two arms circle their way around her waist and pull her into a firm body, twirling her as they got waist deep into the water.

When she felt his arms encircle her she could help the squeal at being caught escape and the giggles that erupted as they turned in the water. She was still trying to escape when he stopped spinning and turned her towards him.

Her laughs died off, her smile slowly fading, as she realized how close she was, his eyes drew her in and transfixed her to the spot.

A second later Gibbs and Jenny were being pelted by water. They looked at each other and grinned. Suddenly they turned on Tony and Ziva with frightening glares on their faces. The water stopped for a minute and they held up their hands in defeat as they started to back away.

"Mom…Dad…we were just messing around…" Tony started, scared by the twin looks they were receiving; it was as if their bosses were stalking them as if they were prey.

"Yes, mom, dad, it will not happen again…" Ziva reiterated.

Jenny and Gibbs shared a look before turning back to 'their kids'.

"What's the matter Levana, Larry, now that your father's here, scarred you're going to loose?" Jenny taunted. That made the two agents stop and stand there ground.

"Very well." "Bring it on!" Ziva and Tony said as they started splashing them again.

Jenny and Gibbs quickly splashed back, sending more water towards the younger two, than they were sending at them.

All four of them were laughing so hard, they didn't notice the lifeguard standing there.

"Excuse me!" he said for the forth time. They looked at him and indicated for him to continue. "There is no splashing, at least not this much!" He said scolding the adults. All of them were trying their hardest to keep the smiles off their faces as the lifeguard looked at them all in turn.

"Wont happen again." Gibbs said turning his back on the lifeguard and back to the other three. They looked at each other and burst out laughing. A lifeguard having to yell at four adults at an amusement park for something children would do, priceless!

They swam for a few minutes before Gibbs excused himself and went back to his reclining lawn chair.

"I cannot believe you did that mom!" Tony said when Gibbs was out of earshot. Jenny looked at him with an innocent 'what' look before going back to swimming. A few minutes later she, herself excused herself and went to sit back with Gibbs.

Gibbs couldn't believe how happy he was hearing Jenny calling him father the way a wife would to their children, and Tony and Ziva calling them mom and dad. He knew he had to get away before he did anything stupid so he excused himself and went back to his chair. From there he observed Jenny swimming and how Tony and Ziva were acting towards one another. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought they were a happy family, not a bunch of agents, and a director, playing the part, they were too comfortable with each other for that.

A few minutes later Gibbs saw Jenny swim over to Ziva and Tony and say something to them before getting out of the wave pool and walking towards him. He took this moment to look at her. He started at her feet, which were incredibly shapely, but once he reached her stomach, his eyes were glued to the two angry looking scars from when she'd gotten shot.

Knowing she must still be in some pain by looking at the redness around the marks a wave of guilt ran over him. He'd grabbed her around her waist and had probably hurt her, then again, he thought, she didn't cringe at all. That made him feel a little better, but his eyes magnetically moved to the scar marking her left shoulder. He still blamed himself somewhat for what had happened to her, if he was there, then there was a possibility that she wouldn't have been injured in the first place, but…

"Stop starring at them!" Jenny said looking into his eyes.

"Starring at what?" he played dumb and got his trademark glare in return.

"You know damn well what! They still hurt yes, but not as bad as a few days ago, I can deal with the pain, but you starring at them and bringing attention to them, makes me uneasy, so stop starring at them!" She said matter of factly sitting down next to him.

She hated it when she caught him starring at the three marks on her skin that would be a constant reminder or her stupidity.

Gibbs watched her as her attention was brought back to Tony and Ziva in the pool. He watched as a genuine smile crossed her face at watching the two younger agents.

Jenny feeling Gibbs watching her turns her head with a slight color to her face, uneasy with the way he was looking at her.

"What?" She asked, her eyebrow rising.

"Nothing" He said before facing forward and reclining putting his sunglasses back on.

"Uh huh" she said doing the same.

A comfortable silence engulfed them as they enjoyed just being able to relax. It wasn't until hours later that they went back to the plantation. They were still in good spirits as they went to their respective rooms, Jenny exceeding so. She had had one of the best days she had in a very long time and couldn't wipe the smile from her face; little did she know everything was going to take a turn for the worse.

**A/N: So? Bad? Terrible? Good? Great? What is going to happen in the next chapter?! Let me know what you think! Thanks again^.^**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: I am SO sorry for the delay in updating all of my stories, but life and severe writer's block has made it almost impossible to get anything written, although my set goal is to get the next chapter for all of my NCIS fics chapters out by this Friday, one down, two to go. Hopefully this chapter will be good and get me out of it, at least for a little while anyways! Thanks again, Enjoy^.^**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, wish I did.**

_**Last Chapter**_

_A comfortable silence engulfed them as they enjoyed just being able to relax. It wasn't until hours later that they went back to the plantation. They were still in good spirits as they went to their respective rooms, Jenny exceedingly so. She had had one of the best days she had in a very long time and couldn't wipe the smile from her face; little did she know everything was going to take a turn for the worse._

_**Current Chapter**_

"I had a ton of fun today, what are we doing tomorrow?" Jenny asked her voice filled with excitement. Gibbs laughed at the amount of excitement causing Jenny to look at him with a brow raised.

"What's so funny?" She asked looking at him.

"Just how excited you are, DiNozzo mentioned going to Bush Gardens tomorrow if you want to do that…"

"Yes! Roller coasters are almost as fun as water rides; of course, what did Ziva say to the idea?"

"She agreed with DiNozzo…"

"Then it's settled, Bush Gardens, here we come…" She heard Gibbs snicker and interrupted before he could comment. "Don't say anything if you want to sleep in the bed tonight…!" She threatened and walked away towards the bedroom.

Gibbs just stood shocked at how Jenny was acting. The director façade was finally breaking down, and he was getting to see the woman he originally fell in love with, and it was harder to stay away than he could have imagined.

"Jethro, I just remembered…" Jenny said shouting from the bedroom as she gathered her things for a shower.

"Yeah?" He asked hoping she wasn't going to pick the subject from the first ride back up again.

"You still have to tell me what you overheard, and don't try to lie, you may know my tell very well, but I know yours as well, I know you Jethro Gibbs." She finished as she walked back into the living room holding pajamas, as well as other articles of clothing that were almost completely covered by the others, but not quite all the way.

_'Don't even look Jethro!'_ He scolded himself as he forced his eyes to meet hers.

"It was nothing Jen, I overheard something Ziva was saying about Ara when she was in Israeli, and Kelly came to mind when you asked if the kids were excited, nothing major…" He pulled the card, he felt terrible about it, but would rather deal with some of the pain then have her suffer any more, she already had a traumatic few months.

He watched as her face went from happy and curious to sad and sympathetic.

"I shouldn't have pushed, but if it's any consolation I know how you feel…" _'Shit, shit, shit!!!'_ Jenny couldn't believe she let that slip, hopefully he wouldn't ask her anything about it and just take her condolences…one look however told her that he made somewhat of a connection, or at least was suspicious of something.

"Jen…? How do you know how I feel…?" He asked, pushing her slightly, but allowing her to back out if she didn't want to tell him anything.

_'SHIT!' _She thought as soon as he asked.

"I just meant, when I was in Cairo with Ziva the second time I had to watch our captors murder children in front of us and be able to do nothing about it, they may not have been my children, but it was still terrible…" Well, it was half true, she really did have to watch that, but she felt her eye twitching nonetheless.

"Eye." Was all he said.

"I need to take a shower, what are we doing for dinner?" She said changing the subject as she started to fiddle with the clothing she was holding.

"Ziti sound good?" Gibbs asked allowing her to change the subject; he would only push her slightly.

"Ziti sounds good." She said making sure she had all of her clothes as she started walking towards the bathroom.

"Why won't you say anything Jen?" He said to himself when he heard the shower turn on.

An hour in a half later, Jenny and Gibbs were both showered and had just finished eating and were cleaning up when their phone rang.

Gibbs and Jenny looked at one another before walking over to the hotels phone and picking it up.

"Hello?" Jenny asked looking at Gibbs whos was looking straight back trying to gauge her reaction.

"Mommy?" Ara's voice asked and Jenny let out a relieved smile.

"No Ara, its Jenny sweetheart, is Abby there?" She asked as Gibbs turned back to the kitchen area to finish cleaning off the counter.

"Hi Jenny!" Ara said excitedly, before giving the phone to Abby.

"Hi director, sorry, Ara wanted to talk to Ziva, but I didn't want to give her your undercover cell numbers, just in case you were near Mira, so I gave her the hotel room I found, but I didn't have Tony and Ziva's, so I had her call this one, and I'm sorry director, please don't be mad, she just really missed Ziva and wanted to make sure everyone was okay and all, not that I didn't because I did, I do, but she was asking and she has those eyes…." Abby was speaking a million miles a minute and Jenny had to bit her cheek from laughing.

"Abby, Abs slow down, it's fine, both Jethro and I are awake, besides I was missing you and Ara…"

"Oh thank goodness, I was really worried that you or Gibbs…wait, Jethro? Jenny, you vixen!" Abby said teasingly. Abby would always tease Jen when she called Gibbs Jethro, it always seemed to make Jenny blush slightly, of coarse, Abby always made sure Jenny wasn't pissed.

"Abby, you know it's not like that." Jenny said feeling the heat rise to her face at getting caught again, it wasn't anything to get embarrassed about, but when everyone else calls him Gibbs except for his ex-wives and Girlfriends, she kinda stands out. Technically no one, but Ziva were a hundred percent positive that her and Gibbs used to be lovers. Sure they suspected it, but couldn't prove it

"Not like what Jenny?" Abby played innocent, but Jenny could hear her snickering as well as…Ara laughing?! Now she just couldn't keep the laugh in, even though the situation was incredibly awkward, especially since Jethro was now sitting across from her watching the conversation take place. Jenny's eyes kept going back and forth from Gibbs to her hand that was playing with the cord of the phone.

"You know what Abby!" Jenny said feeling more heat rise to her face when Gibbs gave her the observing look. She turned uncomfortably so he couldn't see her face as well as she continued talking.

"Do you want me to give Ara Ziva's hotel number?" She asked changing the subject at which Abby laughed even louder, but Ara's excited 'yes please' was clear.

She quickly gave the number and said her goodbyes to both Abby and Ara before hanging up and going to sit on the couch with Gibbs.

"So, what are we watching?" Jenny asked pulling her feet up and angling them to the side of her.

"What do you want to watch Jen?" He asked back still trying to figure out why she was blushing so much a few seconds ago, he knew it couldn't deal with Mark, he knew they were having a disagreement right now, besides, her phone was still off, which meant she still didn't want to talk to him.

"Give it to me!" She said and Gibbs almost couphed on his coffee as his head whipped around to look at her with shock.

"What?!" Jenny said uncomfortable with the way he was starring at her.

"What did you just say?" He asked not trusting his ears.

"…Give it to me…" She said not realizing what he was getting at until she realized he must not have been listening to what she had asked for right before that statement. Her face went bright red as she corrected herself.

"The remote, give it to me." She corrected as Gibbs face went back to normal and he passed her the note with a small grin still on his face as he saw how embarrassed she got when she realized what her statement suggested.

The rest if the night they spent watching 'The Tao of Steve', before heading off to bed.

**UNDER_COVER_ASSIGNMENT____________UNDER_COVER_ASSIGNMENT**

Ziva had just gotten off the phone with Ara when Tony went to sit next to her on the couch.

"Alright Miss David, it's time for your movie history showing. Are you ready for this?!" Tony asked trying to build suspense as he flipped on the T.V an navigated to the channel 'The Tao of Steve' was playing.

"What's it about Tony?" Ziva said using him to lean on while watching the opening credits.

"Well Zeevaah, it's about this underachieving, overweight kindergarten teacher that finds a woman who forces him to reexamine his Zen-like ways of seduction…" Tony said adjusting both himself and Ziva so he had his head on the armrest of the couch and his arm around Ziva's body, while Ziva's head was resting on next to his shoulder on his chest.

"Sounds interesting, is his ability to pick up women as good as yours Tony?" Ziva asked meaning to tease him.

"I pried myself to think so, but every man has to change his method once he finds someone he really likes." Tony said look at her as she turned to look at his face.

"Oh, and have you?" She asked curiously, not getting her hopes up.

"Just once…"

"Jeanne?" Ziva asked looking back at the movie not wanting to see his face when he clarified it.

"I don't really count Jeanne, because I was undercover at the time, I _had _to play that role, I cared about her, but not as much as I cared for this other girl." Tony said grinning as Ziva asked who it was.

"Jealous Zeevaah?!" He teased.

"You wish Tony, I am just curious to know who this woman is that has gotten you so slipped off guard." She replied back, keeping her voice neutral as she 'watched' the movie.

"Hmm, well, she's a real pretty one, almost my height, a bit shorter, real strong too, but she doesn't look like those women body builders. She's fast too, she doesn't talk too much about herself because she grew up getting told not to. The thing I really like about her, besides the fact that she's funny, smart, strong, fast, beautiful, nice and yet intimidating, are her eyes, they are extremely expressive, even if she thinks there not…" He was saying, trying to get her to make the connection, and by the way she was tensed slightly he knew she had.

"And her name?" Ziva asked wanting to confirm her thoughts.

"What was her name…Lucy…?" He asked and felt her form slump slightly. "Wait, that's not it…Sarah, yeah, that was her name. He said and he felt Ziva start to pull away, he held her tighter as he continued. "I love her middle name…oh you wanted the first name?! He said as she looked at him. "Ziva's her first name, pretty name isn't it?" Tony asked smiling as she stared at him.

"Me?" She asked, and when he nodded she leaned in and kissed him softly at first, but it grew more urgent as it went on.

"Maybe we can watch the movie tomorrow night." Ziva suggested as she straddled Tony's lap and kissed him again.

"Fine with me." Tony said as he returned the kiss.

There clothes didn't stay on long in their desire to feel one another.

**UNDER_COVER_ASSIGNMENT____________UNDER_COVER_ASSIGNMENT**

Gibbs woke up to Jenny crying in her sleep and was about to try and wake her when he heard his name.

"No, no, no! God Jethro I'm sorry! No! Oh god I'm so sorry, NOOOOO!" Jenny suddenly shouted and sat up crying. Her hands went straight to her torso, and when she felt nothing there her tears only increased in intensity.

Gibbs couldn't believe what was happening, he had barely ever seen Jenny cry, and he had never before seen her cry this hard, but more than that, she had two nightmares, in two nights having something to do with him, and both of them caused her to react like he had barely ever seen her react before. He quickly sat up and hugged her from behind, knowing she needed comfort right now, because it must have been terrible if it was making her react like this.

"I'm so sorry Jethro!" Jenny said as she turned slightly so she could cling to him better, but she still gripped her stomach with the other hand. Gibbs rocked her back and forth for he didn't know how long.

When her tears finally started to subside, he asked her if she wanted to talk about it, but instead of answering him, she jumped out of bed, grabbed her nightgown shawl and ran out of the room yelling she had to talk with Ziva right now and DiNozzo was going to be over in a second.

Gibbs knew now wasn't the time to push her so he let her go and talk to Ziva, by her actions he thought it might have something to do with her miscarriage, but she kept saying his name, so he knew it couldn't be that, but what he wasn't sure.

A few minutes later Tony was announcing himself."

"In here." Gibbs said back, too tired to get out of bed to talk with Tony, he knew Jenny wouldn't say anything to him, that's why he was over here.

"Is the director alright? She looked as if someone just died, and I mean it…"

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs warned him glaring.

"I've just never seen her in such a wreck." He said being careful at what he was saying.

"She had another nightmare about something." Gibbs said knowing the younger agent wasn't trying to gossip, but was genuinely worried about her.

"Did she say anything like last night?" He pushed a bit more.

Gibbs debated for a minute before deciding to be honest with him. "My name, 'sorry', and 'no' a lot, not much else." He said getting gout of bed and fixing it a bit in case Jenny came back tonight, which he didn't think she was going to, he could see Tony's pillow and blanket on the couch, still he needed to keep his hands busy to keep him from going over and making sure Jen was alright.

"Boss, you do know that Jenny doesn't care for Mark right?" Tony said quietly scarred of how his boss was going to react.

"DiNozzo, I am not having this conversation with you right now." Gibbs said as he pulled harder on the sheet.

"Gibbs, she really doesn't. She talks to Ziva, and Ziva told me. Aparently she's setiling for Mark, she deniys it, but everyone knows that she's in love with you, why can't you see it…?!" Tony said raising his voice forgetinig he was talking to his boss, but fed up with this whole mess that was going on between his boss and his boss' boss.

"DINOZZO! " He shouted turning sharply to him and giving him his glare used on criminals.

"She does, and if you don't do anything about it, she's going to follow through with this ridiculous wedding, then she'll be Mark's, she'll be miserable and so will you, even if you don't want to admit it…"

"I said I'm NOT HAVING THIS CONVERSATION, NOW LEAVE!" He said walking towards the door and shutting it in Tony's face.

Gibbs knew Tony wasn't trying to piss him off, he was only trying to let Gibbs have the happy ending, but Tony didn't know anything about Jen or him.

Jenny moved on in Paris, she found Mark, and no matter what Tony says, she is happy with him, otherwise she wouldn't be getting married, Jenny doesn't settle, she's too damn stubborn for that.

Tony was pissed with his boss, not only was he making himself feel terrible, but Jenny as well. They both had it in their minds that the other has moved on, and they both refuse to allow the other to see that they haven't. He also knew, that if he said anything more tonight that it would only get worse for all parties involve, including Ziva and himself, No, now he would let Gibbs think about what he said, and se what that leads to.

**UNDER_COVER_ASSIGNMENT____________UNDER_COVER_ASSIGNMENT**

Jenny couldn't believe she had the dream again, but this time it was so much worse, not only did she have to relive loosing her child and the pain that came with it. In this dream Gibbs found out, and he was devastated, he couldn't even look at her after she lost their baby.

Having to relive loosing her unborn child was bad enough, but having Gibbs hate her and be so furious with her that he accused her of killing their baby and be unable to even be in the same room as her was more than she could handle.

She knew she was taking a risk when she told Gibbs she was sorry, but she had to, even if he didn't really know what she was sorry about, she had to releave some of the guilt and pain that came with the dream.

She couldn't stay in the same room as Gibbs, not after that nightmare, she needed to get away and talk to the one that knew about her past, she needed to talk to Ziva, that was why she was currently kicking Tony out of their room and sending him over to hers and Gibbs'.

Once Tony was gone Ziva guided Jenny over to the couch and sat down with her.

As soon as Jenny had came in and Ziva saw the state she was in she quicklyput her nightgown robe over her gown and ran over to her thinking something terrible had happened to Gibbs.

After hearing her tell Tony to go over and spend the night with Gibbs tonight some of the fear dissipated. Tony and her shared a look, but Tony quickly grabbed his pillow and blankets.

He gave her a quick kiss and grabbed the key card to get into Gibbs room, as well as taking one for his and Ziva's room.

"Jenny? Are you alright?" Ziva asked rubbing circles on her friends back.

"I had the dream again, but it was so much worse Ziva, Gibbs blamed me for killing her, he couldn't even look at me Ziva, I killed our little girl!" Jenny said as more tears started to escape, but she quickly wiped them away.

"Jenny, you did not kill her! Some one else did, you were trying to protect her Jenny!" Ziva tried to reason with her.

"If I had never left Paris, then she would be alive right now." Jenny said standing up and pacing back and forth.

"You did what you though you had to Jenny." Ziva said standing up with her.

"Yeah, well I thought wrong!" Jenny shouted back and fisted her hands.

Ziva thought for a second before going into her closet and grabbing two pairs of flip flops. She placed one pair in front of Jenny and told her to put them on, as she put on her own pair.

Jenny had been in such a rush to get over here, that she had forgotten to put shoes on.

"Where are we going?" Jenny asked as Ziva led her out of the unit.

"For some fresh air, we are going to walk around the place, besides did you not say you wanted to have a look around at some point?" She answered and Jenny smiled.

"Thank you Ziva, I think that's just what I need right about now."

Ziva just smiled back. They walked for about fifteen minutes before Ziva started talking.

"You know mom; you may want to talk to dad about this…" Ziva started to say and Jenny's head snapped up.

"Levana, you promised!" She said frightened Ziva was going to say something.

"I know mom, but you really should say something…"

"He'll hate me forever Le, didn't I tell you this already, besides, after seeing what would happen, I can't!

"He would never hate you mom! He loves you…" Ziva tried to continue, but Jenny just shook her head.

"No, he doesn't, besides, I'm with _him_ now, I love _him_!" Jenny said stressing the word him, making sure Ziva knew she was referring to Mark. They knew they still had to be careful, they were outside, Mira could be anywhere, but at the same time, they weren't giving it too much thought.

"Mom! He does love you, more than you know, everyone else can see it, why can you not?! Ziva said turning towards Jenny and stopping her.

"I AM NOT HAVING THIS CONVERSATION!" Jenny said and as soon as she finished she could see Ziva about to say something, but her facial expression suddenly switched to that of pain and her grip on Jenny tightened.

"Levana…?" Jenny questioned frightened.

"M…o…m…" Ziva got out before she dropped to the ground shuddering in pain before going still.

Jenny looked up as she heard laughter and froze when she saw the source of the laughter; her hand quickly went to her hip only to realize she didn't have her holster or her sig on her.

"Hello Alexandra, so nice to actually meet you, although, I've been watching you so there's not really anything to talk about, say good bye." She said grinning wickedly, before Jenny felt an enormous amount of pain emanate from her upped chest to the rest of her body.

"You…won't…get…away…with this…" Jenny said before she fell painfully to the cement sidewalk, she felt her body start to convulse as she listened to her attacker.

"Funny, that's what they all say, but you know what, I always seem to get away…." That was the last thing Jenny heard before darkness surrounded her.

**A/N: DUNDUNDUN! Sorry for the cliffhanger. Good, bad? Please don't kill me…*ducks and hides from the mob* I hope you liked it, Tiva is officially together, hooray! I hope you like the next chapter, thanks again^.^**


	27. ANImportant!

**A/N: First thing I need to say is SORRY!!!!!!**

**Second thing is, as of yesterday, I got another job. I will no longer have any time to write any more stories or chapters for fanfiction. I am sorry to all of those that were looking forward to the following chapters or sequels to the stories. I am no longer satisfied with the way Second Chances is coming along, and not enough people seem to be liking The Gift of a Fight, or at least they are not informing me that they are happy with it. As for the sequel to Bolt from the Blue, I really do not have time to work on another story, even though it would be the finishing of what I have so far. I am so sorry again, please do not hate me, if I find time somewhere in my busy schedule, I may decided to write another chapter for it, but as of now I am done writing all sorts of stories.**

**~Quibilah.  
**


	28. ANRead!

**A/N: First thing I need to say is SORRY!!!!!!**

**Second thing is, APRIL FOOLS!!!! I would never up and quit a story, so don't worry, I meant to update this last night, but sort of lost internet connection, sorry about that. So yes everything in the last A/N was for April Fools Day, nothing more, the following chapters to everything should be out by the April 11th at the latest. Thanks and sorry again for the joke^.^  
**

**~Quibilah.  
**


	29. ANGood and Bad news

**A/N: First thing I need to say is SORRY!!!!!!**

**Second thing is, my computer wiped again, sort of, on the user account I was using, it would no longer allow me to open anything, so I had to create a new one, problem is, I no longer have my stories new chapters, and I finished one of them while the other one only had a page or two to go, found out when I went to upload the chapter that was finished, so not happy!!!**

**Third thing is, I created a youtube video that goes with this story second chances, it's the basic plot and emotions of everything that's going on and going to happen between Jenny/Mark/Gibbs. You should watch it and let me know what you think about it=D If you go to ArtemisVSAthena it will be the one labeled Second Chances.=D Be warned, it holds massive spoilers for the end of the story.**

**Sorry again, I hope the video somewhat makes up for how long this has taken me, I am hoping to get the next chapter up soon, but It was a lot of typing D:**

**~Quibilah**


	30. Chapter 27

_**A/N: First I want to apologize a hundred times over for the VERY slow update, but if you read the A/N before you know that everything was blocked from me opening them up, I hope this chapter makes up for it.**_

_**~KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS CHAPTER TAKES PLACE OVER A COURSE OF A MULTIPLE HOURS, NOT JUST ONE OR TWO!**_

_******IMPORTANT*******_

_**You must know what two things are before reading to fully understand what will happen in the chapter. **_

_**The Scavenger's Daughter**_—invented as an instrument of torture in the reign of Henry VIII by Sir William, Lieutenant of the Tower of London. It is an A-frame shaped metal rack in which the head was strapped to the top point of the A, the hands at the mid-point and the legs at the lower spread ends; swinging the head down and forcing the knees up in a sitting position so compressed the body as to force the blood from the nose and ears. The Scavenger's Daughter was conceived as the perfect complement to the Duke of Exeter's Daughter (the rack) because it worked the opposite principle to the _**rack**_ by compressing the body rather than stretching it.

_**The lead sprinkler**_—was essentially a ladle on the end of a handle. The top half of the sphere could be removed and the lower half was filled with molten metal, boiling oil, boiling water, pitch or tar. The perforated top half was then re-attached. Shaking or flicking the sprinkler towards the victim showered him or her with the boiling contents of the ladle. The victim had, of course, been pinioned, bound, in advance.

_**Okay, onto the story…please R&R, Enjoy:D**_

_**Last Chapter**_

_"Mom! He does love you, more than you know, everyone else can see it, why can you not? Ziva said turning towards Jenny and stopping her._

_"I AM NOT HAVING THIS CONVERSATION!" Jenny said and as soon as she finished she could see Ziva about to say something, but her facial expression suddenly switched to that of pain and her grip on Jenny tightened._

_"Levanna…?" Jenny questioned frightened._

_"M…o…m…" Ziva got out before she dropped to the ground shuddering in pain before going still._

_Jenny looked up as she heard laughter and froze when she saw the source of the laughter; her hand quickly went to her hip only to realize she didn't have her holster or her sig on her._

_"Hello Alexandra, so nice to actually meet you, although, I've been watching you so there's not really anything to talk about, say good bye." She said grinning wickedly, before Jenny felt an enormous amount of pain emanate from her upped chest to the rest of her body._

_"You…won't…get…away…with this…" Jenny said before she fell painfully to the cement sidewalk, she felt her body start to convulse as she listened to her attacker._

_"Funny, that's what they all say, but you know what, I always seem to get away…." That was the last thing Jenny heard before darkness surrounded her._

_**Current Chapter**_

"Wakey, wakey, dear!" Mira shouted as her fist connected with Jenny's jaw, effectively knocking her into consciousness. "Well, good morning Sunshine, let's _talk_!" She said as she swung at her face again.

"Leave her alone…!" Ziva shouted as Jenny interrupted her.

"Le! Quiet!" She got in right before Mira sucker punched her.

"Awe, how sweet, too bad it's all a lie!" Mira said taking a break from hitting Jenny to walk over to the table situated before Ziva and Jenny.

Jenny turned her head slightly to the right where she knew Ziva was. As soon as she saw Ziva looking back at her, she focused on trying to communicate how important it was to keep up the act of Levanna and Alexandra. She also tried to alleviate some of the worry in Ziva's expression.

Ziva understood everything the look conveyed. She knew their cover was extremely important to keep seeing as Mira liked to keep her victims alive for days, sometimes weeks, before killing them, if she knew they were anything else, she wouldn't hesitate to kill them in that moment, no, they had to buy time to either try to escape, or for Gibbs and Tony to find them.

The thing Ziva was worried about, was the state in which all of the corpses were; the mother-in-law seemed to be in a mangled mess of burns, welts, gunshots, bruises, crushed spines, and many other things, while the daughter in law only ever seemed to have one visible mark, a gunshot to the temple.

If her suspicions were right, which she had this eerie feeling they were, then Mira was going to torture Jenny and she was going to have to watch.

Trying to erase the image of Jenny being tortured from her head, Ziva took the moment to become aware of the surroundings.

She knew she was tied by her wrists, ankles, neck, waist, and upper legs to a chair that, after trying to move it when she woke up, without success, she realized it was bolted to the floor.

Looking at Jenny only caused her gut to grow more wearisome.

She was strapped to a table type device that, upon further examination, would move to either have her body parallel with the floor, perpendicular, or anything in between; currently she was just a little off from being perpendicular. Her wrists and ankles were individually strapped down with metal latches, while the same metal latch design went around her shoulders, right above her breasts, and one around her upper legs, right below her hips. Her shirt was removed leaving her in her bra and pants.

When she saw there was no shirt her worry upped a notch, but she pushed it back down when Jenny assured her that she was fine, _at the moment_, was all that kept going through her mind. She knew Jenny was strong, but there was only so much torture one could take.

Jenny realized immediately what was going to happen, she had been informed of the state the victims were in, she knew which role she was going to play. She knew she could take at least four days of torture without breaking down somewhat; she had to in Cairo and one other place she did not want to think of at the moment, it would help break down her walls if she thought about it.

She tried to get a look at what Mira was doing as she felt her body start to level out, bringing her head down more towards the floor. Her breathing increased slightly, trying to ready herself for what was about to happen.

Not being able to see Mira, even after lifting her head the small amount it would go, caused her to get a bit more worried than she was a moment ago.

Ziva saw Jenny's body start to get parallel to the floor and tried to think fast. It was at that moment that Mira turned around holding something that was eerily familiar to her. Fear jumped through her, but she had an idea, at least to buy some time before the device was to be used on Jenny, if she couldn't do anything else, at least she could buy her some time.

"Who are you and what do you want?" She heard it in one of DiNozzoz's movies, and it always seemed to buy a small amount of time.

Jenny heard Ziva start talking and her pulse quickened with the fear laced into it, Mira probably wouldn't pick up on it, but Jenny knew Ziva, and that's why her pulse was racing, Ziva must have seen something that would have gotten her frightened enough to show fear externally.

"Levanna…!" Jenny started, but Mira interrupted.

"Your daughter asked a question! I suggest you shut your mouth, before I do something much worse to it!" Mira threatened in an ominously low voice, and as soon as she was done, Jenny felt searing pain erupt on the top side of her right foot; she bit down hard to keep from shouting out. The pain lasted a while, but she endured it, she had to listen to what Mira was about to say.

"Your mother-in-law is an evil bitch; do you know what she has done?" Mira said walking around Jenny's body to be on her right side while looking at Ziva.

"She has done nothing!" Ziva ground out, she knew Jenny had to be in pain, and that was only a small amount that was released.

"You may not know it yet, but you will. She has forced your husband into the Navy, how do you not know what she has done…"

"Larry _wanted _to join the Navy…"

"Because _she_ brainwashed him!" Mira shouted, throwing her right hand over to indicate Jenny, while releasing more boiling wax. Most of it landed on her torso, and both Ziva and Mira heard her grunt of pain.

Jenny was trying to make the connection between everything while trying to keep her mouth shut when Mira suddenly shouted and the pain in her foot was nothing compared to the pain the erupted over her abdomen. She tried to keep the grunt of pain in, but it was unexpected and extremely painful, she felt the liquid, whatever it was burned its way across her sides as it dripped down them.

"Mom!" Ziva shouted, still only some of the boiling wax was released, but she knew the pain only a small amount could inflict when it was as hot as it was currently.

"Don't worry about her, in time; you will enjoy getting to watch _her_ being tortured, rather than you." Was all Mira said before walking back to the table, she set the Iron Sprinkler down, and walked out of the door, closing it tightly behind her. Ziva waited until she could no longer hear Mira's footfalls before seeing if Jenny was alright, looking at her though told her she was still in pain, her muscles were still flexed, and her eyes were shut tight.

"Mom…?" Ziva asked quietly.

Jenny was trying not to grunt again, she could feel what ever the liquid was start to cool, but the pain was still there. She heard Ziva, and took a deep breath to make her voice strong. She turned her head mechanically and opened her eyes.

"I'm fine…"

"That was boiling wax; do not act so tough when she is gone, save your strength for when she comes back." Ziva said and was relieved when Jenny closed her eyes again.

"No wonder it hurts so god damn much!" Jenny said with a shaky breath. "How much was it?"

"Not as much as it felt like, I can assure you of that, but enough that I can see swelling and red marks from where they landed.

"How bad?"

"Jen…"

"Levanna! How bad?" Jenny interrupted.

"Your foot has four burns from what I can see, and your stomach has two travel burns in your side that I can see…"

"And the gun shots?"

"I do not believe there are any burns on them, but I cannot see all of them.

"So, pretty good overall." Jenny joked as she focused her mind away from the pain.

Ziva forgot that Jenny used humor to escape pain at first before, from what Ziva assumed, escaping to inside her own mind.

"Some things do not change." Ziva said before they heard footsteps coming towards the door. "Do not worry, they will find us." Ziva said quietly before the door opened again.

"Ready for round one mommy dearest?" Mira said walking towards Jenny's body holding another device, this time, Ziva kept her mouth shut not wanting her to accidentally fire it like last time.

**_UNDERCOVER_MISSION_GONE_ARAY_**

"DiNozzo." Gibbs said as ha walked out from making the bed.

"Yeah boss?"

"Check on Ziva and the Director, see what time they want to leave."

"On it boss." Tony said before grabbing his and Jenny's key cards and heading to his and Ziva's complex.

The moment he got through the door he got an uneasy feeling. Wanting to calm his worries at not seeing Ziva up and about he walked into the bedroom hoping they had just stayed up late talking and wound up sleeping in.

He quietly entered the bedroom and his fears doubled at seeing the bed how he had left it the evening before.

Clinging to the small chance that Ziva and Jenny went out for a walk to talk about what ever it was that had Jenny in such a state she was in last night. He went to Ziva's pillow and reached under it, knowing she left her gun there and wouldn't go outside without it considering they were on a mission, and the fact that she wouldn't want to put Jenny's life in danger again.

His hope was crushed when his hand connected with the cool metal of her gun.

Fearing the worst he grabbed her gun and was about to run back to Gibbs and Jenny's room when out of the corner of his eye he saw her undercover phone on the night table next to her side of the bed. He quickly grabbed it with her gun and dashed back to Gibbs.

"Boss?" Tony shouted when he got back to Gibbs' complex.

"They chase you out DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked from the bedroom before he came out and almost ran into Tony.

"Gibbs, we have a problem…" Tony started, but Gibbs was already looking at Ziva's belongings.

"Gear up, Jenny's gun is in her drawer, she didn't grab it last night when she ran out of here…" Gibbs started to get a sickening feeling in his gut knowing something had happened. Gibbs suddenly had a thought, he just hoped Ziva followed rule forty three.

"Did you see her phone?" Gibbs asked stopping in his process of holstering his gun.

"Ziva's?" Tony asked confused, how would he know if Jenny grabbed her phone?

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs said loosing patience.

"Jenny ran out of here so fast last night she forgot to grab shoes, you think she grabbed her phone?" he rose his voice as he briskly walked over to the table by the couch, yanked the drawer open and pulled out her cell phone.

"Right boss, but Ziva's phone is right…her real cell phone!" DiNozzo finally caught on.

"She always has it on her, even when she sleeps, she keeps it in her gown; she has to have it on her!"

He took out his undercover phone and dialed her number, putting it on speaker when Gibbs indicated to his ear and the phone.

Both waited with baited breath until they heard Ziva answer.

They let out a sigh of relief and were about to ask where she and Jenny were, but they froze with the next thing they heard from the phone.

_UNDERCOVER_MISSION_GONE_ARAY_

"Do you admit to ruining your son's life? To killing him? To beating your daughter-in-law?" Mira shouted at Jenny right after she poured more boiling was onto her torso, in which a small moan of pain escape as Jenny strained against the metal holdings.

She had avoided the gunshot wounds to save the ultimate pain if she continued to refuse to talk and tell the truth.

Jenny stayed silent trying to hold her gasps of pain in. She had been through the scavengers daughter, and at the moment she would much rather be placed in there for a few hours again, rather than having to continue getting burned.

Mira was just about to pour the boiling wax over the two wounds on her torso when she heard a cell phone start to ring. She took the iron sprinkler back from hovering it over Jenny's torso and walked over to Ziva.

She put the phone on speaker after telling Ziva to answer it once she placed it on speaker.

"Larry!" Ziva said before they could blow their cover.

There was a moment of silence before Mira started to talk.

"Why, hello, I was hoping I was going to get to talk to you, but sadly I'm in the middle of something, just wait one moment." Mira said as she walked back over to Jenny, who was just starting to un-stiffen her body, but as soon as she saw Mira coming towards her she took a deep breath, not wanting Gibbs and Tony to hear anything from her.

She saw her lift the torture device and shut her eyes, the next thing she felt was ten times more painful then anything she had felt yet. She tried, but could keep the scream of agony in and clenched her eyes as tight as possible as she strained so much against her restraints she knew later she would not only have bruises but lacerations from them.

All she could think about at the moment was the searing pain emanating from her previous wounds.

Ziva couldn't keep the shout of "NO" from escaping, but she quickly shut up remembering Tony and Gibbs were on the phone, and didn't want to worry them more than what was needed. She also knew that if she said anything more, Jenny would only be tortured worse.

Mira walked back over to the phone satisfied with the shouts of pain coming from Jenny.

"Now, what were we talking about?" Mira said bitter sweetly fiddling with the handle on the iron sprinkler. "Oh yes, well as you can hear, we're a bit busy over here, so I must go, perhaps I will see you once I am done." She said before hanging up the phone making her way out of the room, setting both the phone and the Iron Sprinkler on the table before slamming the door behind her.

"Alex, Alexandra! Are you alright?" Ziva asked loudly, when Jenny's eyes didn't open and her body didn't relax. She could still hear moans of pain coming from her, and she wasn't positive, but she was pretty sure she could see tear tracks on her face.

"Jenny?" Ziva said hoping to bring her out from her mind somewhat.

When she heard a grunt of acknowledgement she asked again if she was alright.

"Not really, I'm not so sure how much more I can take of this Ziva." Jenny admitted breathing deeply.

Ziva knew not to say something that would upset her, so she said the only thing she knew.

"They won't give up on us, Gibbs will do anything for you, you know that; don't bother talking, save your strength for when he gets here, you need to yell at him for taking so long." Ziva said trying to add some humor to allow Jenny a small chance of relief before Mira came in again.

"Let's hope you're right Zeev." Jenny said before focusing on trying to escape from the pain to her mind.

All Ziva could think was she hoped she was right as well, she knew if Jenny broke down and said she didn't think she could take much time, than she was being broken faster than both of them thought.

_UNDERCOVER_MISSION_GONE_ARAY_

Gibbs listened closely as Mira came on the phone. He was about to say something once Mira finished talking, but he heard what he knew to be Jenny, take a deep breath. Scarred something was about to happen, and that feeling was only intensified by his gut.

The next moment he heard Jenny scream like she was being murdered, he heard Ziva shout "No" and Jenny's screaming continue.

Next thing he heard was Mira's voice on the phone saying goodbye over Jenny's screams before the line went dead.

** A/N: So? Good? Bad? Let me know what you thought, and what you would like to see happen in the next chapter. I hope to have the next chapter out to soon. Thanks again, reviews are very welcome*Hint hint***


	31. Chapter 28

**A/N: Okay, I am sorry to leave you hanging at a very bad spot for so long, but I have been working non-stop, I finally started a two week vacation, so I am having more time to write, and inspiration, considering I am staying in Williamsburg Virginia at Williamsburg Plantation, it's perfect. Well, enough babble, I'll let you get on to the much awaited next chapter, enjoy and please review!**

**A/N 2: The recap will be a bit long, but I thought it was important that you all remembered it seeing how long it's been since the last update.**

_**Last Chapter:**_

"_Now, what were we talking about?" Mira said bitter sweetly fiddling with the handle on the iron sprinkler. "Oh yes, well as you can hear, we're a bit busy over here, so I must go, perhaps I will see you once I am done." She said before hanging up the phone making her way out of the room, setting both the phone and the Iron Sprinkler on the table before slamming the door behind her._

_ "Alex, Alexandra! Are you alright?" Ziva asked loudly, when Jenny's eyes didn't open and her body didn't relax. She could still hear moans of pain coming from her, and she wasn't positive, but she was pretty sure she could see tear tracks on her face._

_ "Jenny?" Ziva said hoping to bring her out from her mind somewhat._

_ When she heard a grunt of acknowledgement she asked again if she was alright._

_ "Not really, I'm not so sure how much more I can take of this Ziva." Jenny admitted breathing deeply._

_ Ziva knew not to say something that would upset her, so she said the only thing she knew._

_ "They won't give up on us, Gibbs will do anything for you, you know that; don't bother talking, save your strength for when he gets here, you need to yell at him for taking so long." Ziva said trying to add some humor to allow Jenny a small chance of relief before Mira came in again._

_ "Let's hope you're right Zeev." Jenny said before focusing on trying to escape from the pain to her mind._

_ All Ziva could think was she hoped she was right as well, she knew if Jenny broke down and said she didn't think she could take much time, than she was being broken faster than both of them thought._

__UNDERCOVER_MISSION_GONE_ARAY__

_ Gibbs listened closely as Mira came on the phone. He was about to say something once Mira finished talking, but he heard what he knew to be Jenny, take a deep breath. Scarred something was about to happen, and that feeling was only intensified by his gut. _

_ The next moment he heard Jenny scream like she was being murdered, he heard Ziva shout "No" and Jenny's screaming continue. _

_ Next thing he heard was Mira's voice on the phone saying goodbye over Jenny's screams before the line went dead._

_**Current Chapter:**_

Tony surprisingly was the first one to recover and spring into action. Hoping with everything he had, that Mira had just hung the phone up and not shut off the phone, he called McGee's cell number.

"Tony?" Abby's voice broke through when the ringing finally stopped.

Tony was too worried about the Director and Ziva he didn't even think about giving them a hard time for Abby answering McGee's phone.

"Abby, I need to talk to you and McGee; we need you to trace Ziva's cell phone, not her undercover phone, her normal cell…" Tony was interrupted by a hysteric Abby.

"Tony? What happened? Where's Ziva? Is she okay? Is everyone else with you?" Abby asked, finally figuring out why her gut was making her feel nauseous.

"Abs, get McGee _now_! Gibbs voice broke through. He knew he sounded completely insensitive and like a jerk, but the longer they talked about this and that, the longer Mira had to torture and break Jenny.

He had seen the bodies that had come into autopsy, after they were given the case, he had gone back to look at all of them, hoping to find something more on all of them to understand somewhat why Mira was targeting them specifically. He knew what was going to happen…_ 'happening!'_ he corrected himself.  
Her scream had made him freeze with fear, he heard nothing after it really, sure he had heard voices that seemed to be far away, but he didn't actually _hear them, _hear them.

He was too wrapped up in a horrible image of Jenny being tortured by Mira, and him not being able to do anything because he couldn't get to her.

He was finally knocked back to Tony speaking on the phone, and if his hearing was correct, which it almost always was, Abby was on the other end, which was when he cut off whatever it was that Tony was about to say to ask for her to put McGee on the phone.

"Gibbs!" Abby said defiantly, throwing a pillow at Timmy's bathroom door, which got the desired affect as he opened the door to see Abby quickly beckoning him to the phone in her hands.

As soon as he saw the panicked look on her face he knew it was Gibbs or Tony.

"Later Abby, this needs to happen first, and fast!" Gibbs stressed, taking some of the anger out of his voice to make sure she knew he wasn't angry with her.

"Boss?" McGee asked once Abby had put the phone on speaker.

"McGee, get to the office with Abby, I need you to trace Ziva's official cell phone and see what comes up. If it's turned off, trace the last call…"

"Gibbs, we can't trace the last call, all we can do is analyze it and try to guess were it was made from…"

"Then do it, it was made to Tony's cell, it was about a minute in a half long, how do we send you the conversation?" Gibbs asked not knowing how they couldn't trace the call, but they could analyze it!

"Well, we contact the head of the phone records, every call is recorded, we'll demand they send your conversation to us at the office, and I'll see what I can get from my lab…" Abby was explaining, forgetting that Ara was staying with them, and not keeping her voice low from the moment Tony had called, therefore, not keeping an eye out for the little girl.

"Abby…?" Ara asked with tears on her face, Abby shut up immediately and dropped the phone looking at the terrified child. "Where's my mommy?" Ara asked standing stock still hugging the teddy bear Jenny had bought for her on the way to NCIS after the first night she spent at Ziva's house with her.

"Ara, come here." Abby said getting out of the bed and walking over to Ara who just continued to stand there while tears rolled down her already wet cheeks.

"Come here." Abby said hugging Ara close to her, as soon as Ara felt contact she held onto Abby for fear life.

"Shhh, it's okay sweetie, we'll find her, she's okay, right Gibbs?" Abby asked hoping he'd be able to calm the balling child in her arms somewhat.

Gibbs sharply looked at Tony when Ara's voice broke through the line, he heard the phone drop before hearing it get picked up again, by presumably McGee, and a second later he heard Abby comforting Ara, before hearing the dreaded question.

"Gibbs?" Abby asked louder.

"Ara honey, you there?" Gibbs asked wanting to talk to her, knowing he had to do this, she had the mind set of a four year old, however smart she was, this was her mother they were talking about!

"Mmmhmm." Ara said, while Abby stood up with Ara still in her arms and walked over to the bed again, sitting down next to Timmy.

"Your mom's alright, she'll be fine as long as Jenny can hold on, but I promise you…" Gibbs said knowing Ara wasn't going to leave Abby's side, and knowing she would listen to the phone conversation, and would undoubtedly hear Jenny's scream.

"What's wrong wif Jenny?" Ara asked squeezing her teddy bear closer and gripping Abby harder.

"Remember the mission your mom and we were all sent on? You remember why?" Gibbs asked knowing she would.

"Mmhmm" Ara answered immediately more tears coming down her face.

"Well, your mommy and Jenny were captured…"

"No!" Ara shouted not wanting to believe him, while she felt Abby's grip on her tighten.

"Gibbs?" Abby asked him to continue.

"Ziva's alright, I promise, Jenny, I'm not sure about, that is why I need you guys to do this, get the call sent to you Abby, start analyzing it, while McGee try's to trace the cell, McGee, when you're done, help Abby, and Ara?" Gibbs said again to get their attention.

"Yeah?" Ara said and it was barely audible with the sobs and tears that were flowing out of her.

"I promise you that we will find your mom and Jenny, and we'll find them alive, I promise you that, but I need you to be a big girl and help Abby and McGee, I know Ziva trained you well, I need you to use that training and see if you can find anything they can't, can you do that for me?" Gibbs asked fatherly, knowing it will help Ara if she thought she was helping find them.

"Yes." Ara answered determined to help.

"I know you can. Alright, Abby, McGee, call me when the three of you find something, and hurry!" Gibbs said before hanging up and throwing the phone on the couch before going into the bedroom and slamming the door.

Tony just stood there watching and listening to his boss' orders, he always seemed to forget how good her was with children, he would have been lost if he had to calm Ara down, it was just another thing that caused him to look up to his boss.

He knew that when Gibbs slammed the phone down and slammed the bedroom door that he needed to calm down a bit, he no doubt blamed himself for what happened, he always did when something bad happened.

"Boss! I'm going to go out and look for anything suspicious, perhaps get a lead on where she got them…" Tony said before he heard a rustle of action and the door swing open.

"Not alone, you're not!" Gibbs said attaching his gun and holster to his waist line as well as his badge. "Gun?" he asked looking to Tony who indicated the table before walking over and mimicking Gibbs' actions.

A little over an hour in a half later Tony pointed out what seemed to be drag marks into the bushes from on of the secluded pathways where it would be impossible for any of the complexes to see. They started to walk into the bushes for more evidence when Gibbs' Phone rang.

He took it of his waist and looked at the color ID, showing 'Abby' he took a breath and answered the phone.

**_UNDERCOVER_MISSION_GONE_ARAY_**

They arrived at NCIS fifteen minutes later, thanking the gods Tim lived close to NCIS headquarters, Abby called MTAC and told them to call whoever would send the phone call to them, and to tell them it was urgent and a real matter of life and death, she of coarse said that when Tim was helping Ara get ready.

They walked into the building, Ara clinging to Abby again. She hit the button on the elevator that would bring her and Ara to her floor, while McGee opted to do the stairs, knowing it would get Abby to her lab faster, instead of having the elevator take him to his floor first, which it always did.

McGee's trace was a bust, he found she must have shut the phone off completely, knowing that their last hope was on the phone conversation he ran to the elevator and pressed the button to Abby's floor hoping she had gotten something in ten minutes he had spent looking for Ziva's phone.

"Abby…are you alright?" He asked rushing over to Abby who was collapsed on the floor crying slightly holding on to a hysteric Ara. He hugged them both before asking what happened.

All Abby could do was point to her computer and tell him to listen.

He slowly got up and turned to the computer, seeing Abby cover Ara's ears and pull her head closer to her, creating a shield of sorts around the little girl.

McGee played the recording, and chills were sent up his spin as soon as Mira's voice came through the recording. He froze when he heard Jenny scream as if she were being sliced from head to toe. Now he knew why Gibbs was so forceful and Abby and Ara were in such hysterics.

He walked over to Abby once the recording was done, he whispered in her ear to bring Ara into her office and lay out the blankets and have her lay down so they could work on finding something that will help them find Ziva and Jenny, without having to make Ara sit through the torture of hearing Jenny being tortured.

Abby did so, but Ara wouldn't let loose on her for five minutes, so Abby just continued to hug her and rock her for that time, knowing McGee would be listening to the recording.

"Ara, sweetie, I need to go help Timmy okay? I need you to be strong for a bit so I can find them alright? Here, Burt will stay with you, he's an excellent guard hippo, okay, I'll be back in fifteen minutes okay, you just try to rest for a bit, Gibbs promised and that means he'll find them, so don't worry." Abby said trying to convince both herself and Ara that Gibbs would find them in time.

Ara reluctantly let go and grasped onto Burt, but not letting go of her teddy bear from Jenny go once.

McGee continued to listen, but his attention wasn't fully on trying to find something in it, in fact, he was listening to all three voices on the recording, and determining what he thought to be happening, besides the obvious.

"You find anything yet?" Abby asked as she stood next to him.

"Listen; tell me what you hear in all of their voices." McGee said as he played the tape again feeling Abby take a deep breath steeling herself against what she knew was going to happen.

"It sounds like Ziva is fine, but when Jenny screams you can hear her as well at first, but she stops suddenly almost like she remembered something, doesn't it? I will tell you this, when we find where they are and tell Gibbs and Tony, we have to tell them to be on their guard, she sounds dangerous, not only because what she is doing, but it sounds as if she is justifying it, like we, Tony and Gibbs, should be proud of her for what she is doing…" McGee went off explaining his beliefs to Abby.

"I know what you mean, but I think I heard something, play it back, the whole thing." Abby said hoping she wasn't just hearing things.

"Alright…so?" McGee asked once it played a couple more times.

"Once more…yes, all of it." Abby said hearing something else that drew her attention away from the other noise.

Ahah, there it was! "Alright, McGee play it once more and get ready to listen and break the video up…a lot…actually, let me do it, move!" Abby said shooing him out of the chair.

Abby played it, and five seconds into it she heard the first snippet, then towards the end she heard it again and stopped it, she edited those two points to the right length to where she heard all of the noise and separated them from the video. She was about to play the snippets to McGee, when Ara's voice once again startled her.

"There's something else, half way through the recording…" Ara said rubbing her swollen eyes and hugging her teddy bear to her chest.

"Ara what was it?" Abby asked coming over to her and picking her up before carrying her back to the computer to play through the tape again.

She felt Ara stiffen the first time it was played when Jenny screamed but she made the motion to play it again for her, and just before a half minute through she told Abby to stop it, then she told her to play it in slow motion and stopped her a bit later and told her to edit it out and put it with the other two clips.

"Anything else?" Abby asked still not hearing what she had heard, but doing it anyways knowing Ziva had trained her, and not wanting to miss anything that could help them find them. Ara shook her head 'no' so Abby went to the three clips and played them all again.

"Okay, well I hear a bunch of quiet screaming in the first two that seem to be the same length, but I'm not catching it in the second one…" McGee said not wanting to put Ara down, but hoping she could elaborate on what she heard.

"Abby, can you take out Jenny and put up the background?" Ara asked knowing what she heard.

"I can lower Jenny screaming and higher the background, but I can't take her out all together..." Abby said, but Ara had nodded when Abby suggested it so that's what she did before playing it again.

"I hear it!" Abby said hugging the little girl excitedly, it would definitely help.

"I still don't…" McGee admitted."

"Listen closely; you'll hear a soft boat horn McGee!" Abby said playing it again, and she saw realization dawn on his features.

"Alright, so we're looking for something with screaming and a boat horn…that doesn't really help…" McGee said his face dropping somewhat.

"What about that other noise in the first two?" Ara asked thinking they had picked it up already, but at the looks she was getting from the two, she assumed they hadn't. "Can you do what you did to the last one again for these?" She asked indicating the first two clips.

Abby didn't even hesitate while she did it, and she played it again, but still looked at Ara, who indicated to play it once more, but stopped her just after it started, only to have her start it again and stop it five seconds later.

"Cut it and make it its own clip." Ara instructed which Abby did.

They played it and Ara saw realization dawn on both their faces.

"A rollercoaster McGee!" Abby shouted excitedly.

"Near water…where does that lead?" McGee asked as he and Abby started typing trying to find a location, Abby found it first.

"BUSCH GARDENS!" She jumped up hugging Ara and twirling them around.

"There in Busch Gardens?" Ara asked confused, "Wouldn't someone hear them?"

"Hmm, right, but we heard the track, the screaming, and the boat horn…let's look at a map view of it…" Abby asked clicking the satellite map.

"There! McGee said as Abby scanned the park. Sure enough there was a small log house near Apollo's Chariot, it seemed, that was on the river side, but it was close to the coaster, which is most likely why no one could hear Jenny scream, but they could hear the screaming from the coaster as well as the tracks, plus the boat horn.

"Call Gibbs!" McGee said as he grabbed her lab phone and started dialing.

"What'd you find?" Gibbs asked when the ringing stopped.

"We heard rollercoaster's, and a boat horn, we think their being held in a log cabin on the riverside next to Apollo's Chariot, a roller coaster at Busch Gardens amusement park, about ten minutes from where you are boss…"

"Where?" Gibbs asked meaning the log house.

"Sent it to Tony's phone…" McGee said watching Abby and Ara dance around her lab.

"Good work McGee…" Gibbs said.

"It was Ara who heard it." McGee answered.

"Put her on." Gibbs said while he and Tony ran back to their vehicle leaving the scene behind without a second thought.

"Gibbs?" Ara said happy, but still scared.

"Excellent work, I knew you'd do it, now where going to go get your mother and Jenny and we're going to bring them back safely okay, you just be ready to give your mom and Jen a big huge when we get back." Gibbs said seeing his car insight.

"Okay, but be safe, she is crazy Gibbs!" Ara said before saying goodbye.

"Bye sweetie, don't worry." Gibbs said as he shut his phone and got in his car and drove off towards Busch Gardens, already knowing the way there.

Five minutes later they arrived at the park, but instead of parking at it, they drove off to where the cabin would be, once the woods got too thick to drive through they got out of the car, and took of in the general vicinity of where the cabin would be.

**_UNDERCOVER_MISSION_GONE_ARAY_**

Mira walked back into the room seeing Jenny sleeping, or at least she believed she was sleeping.

She walked over to her carrying a new weapon, and Ziva had all she could do to not scream at her to leave her alone, knowing that if she did, Jenny would only get hurt even more.

"Are you asleep my dear?" Mira said taking the knife and slashing it across her ribs, bringing Jenny out of her semi-slumber and making her scream and arch off the table she was being held to, causing her already bloody wrist to bleed more.

"What do you want?" Jenny bit through her teeth having enough of this.

"I want you to admit what you did to your child, your son!" Mira said making another slice from her belly button to her hip causing another grunt of pain to escape.

"I did nothing wrong!" Jenny shouted once the pain numbed the tiniest amount.

"Agghhh!" Mira said as she made one last cut from between her breast of to the side before punching Jenny's face so hard she knocked her out of consciousness.

"Stop it! Ziva demanded now tat she knew Jenny was knocked unconscious.

"No, you will see!" Mira shouted back unclamping Jenny's restraints and flipping her over before doing them up again. She took the knife and positioned it right above the bottom of her shoulder blade. She put pressure on it and yanked it down her back successfully waking jenny and causing another scream to fill the room.

"Stop it!" Ziva shouted as she actually saw tears in Jenny's eyes, they weren't falling, but they were about to.

"Why do you not enjoy this? watching her getting tortured as she loved to watch you!" Mira said drawing the knife in another long slice across Jenny's back, and another one, smaller than the others, but just as deep.

"Please!" Jenny gasped trying to stop the tears, she was attacking her too quickly, she didn't have time to brace herself for the next attack.

"Admit what you've done!" Mira said making two more quick cuts on her already bloody back. She took the knife once more and made another long slash from her clean shoulder blade all the way down her back getting a very satisfactory scream from her before she went to the table and grabbed the bottle of rubbing alcohol and salt she had brought with her.

She set the salt on the table Jenny was restrained on and poured a good amount of rubbing alcohol onto Jenny's back causing her to let an agonizing scream out and strain backwards casing more lacerations on her wrists and upper shoulders.

"Almost done back here, unless you have something to tell your daughter?" Mira asked and waited a moment for Jenny to talk, but nothing came so she took the knife and yanked it across her back twice more quickly before yanking it diagonal from side to side, all the while Jenny screaming and with tars flowing from her eyes, still not a ton, but they were flowing freely now from the pain.

Mira waited till her screaming subsided and dumped the rubbing alcohol over her back once more causing the same reaction, but not as intense as the first one. She grabbed Jenny's shirt and firmly pressed it to her back yanking it all over it drying her back somewhat. She threw the blood soaked shirt on the ground before picking up the salt and pouring it all over Jenny's back; she heard a scream before Jenny's body went limp from unconsciousness.

She quickly undid her fasting and flipped her again doing them all up quickly and marching out of the room, she had to grab something first before continuing.

"Jenny?" Ziva said not believing what had just happened, sure before was bad, but now was terrible. Jenny's skin in her back was stained with blood and puckered marks from where the skin was sliced open. She couldn't believe how many times Mira had cut her, or how long and deep those cuts were.

She couldn't feel more relieved when Jenny lost consciousness and Mira left her alone, she only hoped that she'd regain consciousness relatively soon so Mira didn't bring her back the way she'd done previously.

"Mom!" Ziva said loudly and she saw Jenny's head start to move back and forth. "Mom? Please, stay with me!" Ziva said as Jenny's eyes started to open.

She let out a gasp of pain and arched against the table trying to get her back off of it, but being unsuccessful as she was held in by her shoulders and hips.

"Gah!" Jenny grunted as she clamped her eyes shut against the pain.

"Mom, please stay with me! They are coming!" She said, lowering her voice for the last part.

"I…ah, hmm, I don't know if I can last till then…" She grunted again.

"You have to! You are our mom! We can't loose you; think of Abby, Tim, Tony, Ara, and Gibbs! Think of everyone that needs you to stay alive!" Ziva encouraged hoping Tony and Gibbs would get here already!

"I'm trying!" Jenny shouted realizing a minute to late that it was the wrong thing to do when she heard footsteps racing down the stairs.

Mira burst the door open and glared at Jenny.

"NEVER speak to her that way!" She said coming up to Jenny quickly grabbing the knife on her way, she made two gashes one her right side, where most of the damage was, and yanked it down the skin on her sternum.

"I suggest you keep your mouth shut till I get back or you won't be waking up the next time!" Mira said storming out of the room.

"I'm so sorry!" Ziva said feeling responsible for that one.

"No, it wasn't you." Jenny said quietly taking the threat seriously.

Ziva knew better than to argue or it would wind up like this again.

A moment later they heard Mira coming back down the stairs. She opened the door and held up her new weapon while shutting the door behind her.

She set the gun on the table and walked over to Jenny's table restraint, making it so she was almost perpendicular to the floor.

She stood in front of Jenny and stared at her before asking her the same question she had before.

"I told you, he _wanted_ to join the Navy! _He_ chose to join; I had _no_ part in it! Why don't you understand?" Jenny shouted at her loosing all patience.

"_YOU MADE_ HIM JOIN! You killed him!" Mira shouted back.

"No I didn't!"

"Yes, you did! You killed your son! You killed your own child!" Mira shouted back turning and grabbing the gun and pointing it at Jenny who was lost in the memory of her miscarriage.

"Did you now want him? There was no reason to kill him! You could have saved him, but you didn't you killed him, and no one is responsible except for you, why can you not take responsibility for killing your child? Mira shouted exasperatedly.

"I didn't mean it!" Jenny shouted crying.

"You admit it then? You admit you murdered your son? You killed him before he could choose his own fait! He trusted you and you turned your back on him and murdered him! How could you kill your own child?" She shouted needing to know why her own husband was killed by his mother.

"I DIDN'T MEAN IT!" Jenny shouted again as more tears escaped with deep sobs wracking her wounded and bloody frame.

"It doesn't matter whether or not you meant it or not, the fact is you did it, and now you'll have to pay!" Mira said walking closer to her.

"You think I'm not paying for it already?" Jenny shouted anger entering her emotions as more tears and sobs escaped. "The man I love won't even look at me because of it! I can't be with him because he doesn't know, and if he did, he would hate me forever! I suffer every damn day for what happened, to not be able to see my child take its first breath! Its first steps! It's first everything! To not even know if it would have been a boy or a girl! No, you have no fucking idea how much I am already suffering! I lost the child of the _only_ man I every loved! _Me_! No one else, it was my decision to leave him, my actions that left the note, even though I _knew_ I was carrying his child, I left him for my damn _job_! So don't you fucking accuse me of not paying for it already because every damn day I suffer knowing that our baby will never happen!" Jenny said breaking down and sobbing more then she had in years for finally saying everything she knew in her mind.

"So you killed more than one child?" Mira said outraged.

"Shut the hell up!" Ziva said knowing they were both about to die, Jenny admitted what Mira wanted to know and more. Ziva wasn't mad at her though, she felt terrible for her, sure she had thought she knew everything, but to hear Jenny say it all and to hear the emotion gripping her and the horror in her voice at what she had done was too much. She'd be damned if she was going to let Mira torture Jenny anymore, she had already done too much damage to her already that Ziva couldn't stop from happening, no more!

Mira was about to say something when the door slammed open, her hand jerking back as a crack of a gun echoed around the small basement.

**A/N: So? Was it worth the wait or do you all hate me for the cliffhanger? I'm hoping to get the next chapter out soon, I have some time this week, but I am also starting to work on an actual novel that's been floating around in my head for three years, and I've finally decided to write it, but if I get a lot of reviews demanding more, then I may put that off and write the next chapter. (Hint hint) Thank you for taking the time to read it!**

**~Quibilah^.^**


	32. Chapter 29

**A/N: Alright, sorry for the cliffhanger in the last chapter, but at least I am getting this one out to you relatively soon right? I hope you guys like this chapter, it's a bit heavy, but no wards near as heavy as the last chapter. Enjoy, please review!**

**A/N 2: Once again the recap is long, but, and I hope I'm not giving too much away, this is what Gibbs and Tony overhear, keep that in mind while you read this next chapter.**

_**Last Chapter:**_

"_Did you not want him? There was no reason to kill him! You could have saved him, but you didn't you killed him, and no one is responsible except for you, why can you not take responsibility for killing your child? Mira shouted exasperatedly._

"_I didn't mean it!" Jenny shouted crying. _

"_You admit it then? You admit you murdered your son? You killed him before he could choose his own fait! He trusted you and you turned your back on him and murdered him! How could you kill your own child?" She shouted needing to know why her own husband was killed by his mother._

"_I DIDN'T MEAN IT!" Jenny shouted again as more tears escaped with deep sobs wracking her wounded and bloody frame._

"_It doesn't matter whether or not you meant it or not, the fact is you did it, and now you'll have to pay!" Mira said walking closer to her._

"_You think I'm not paying for it already?" Jenny shouted anger entering her emotions as more tears and sobs escaped. "The man I love won't even look at me because of it! I can't be with him because he doesn't know, and if he did, he would hate me forever! I suffer every damn day for what happened, to not be able to see my child take its first breath! Its first steps! It's first everything! To not even know if it would have been a boy or a girl! No, you have no fucking idea how much I am already suffering! I lost the child of the only man I every loved! Me! No one else, it was my decision to leave him, my actions that left the note, even though I knew I was carrying his child, I left him for my damn job! So don't you fucking accuse me of not paying for it already because every damn day I suffer knowing that our baby will never happen!" Jenny said breaking down and sobbing more then she had in years for finally saying everything she knew in her mind._

"_So you killed more than one child?" Mira said outraged._

"_Shut the hell up!" Ziva said knowing they were both about to die, Jenny admitted what Mira wanted to know and more. Ziva wasn't mad at her though, she felt terrible for her, sure she had thought she knew everything, but to hear Jenny say it all and to hear the emotion gripping her and the horror in her voice at what she had done was too much. She'd be damned if she was going to let Mira torture Jenny anymore, she had already done too much damage to her already that Ziva couldn't stop from happening, no more!_

_Mira was about to say something when the door slammed open, her hand jerking back as a crack of a gun echoed around the small basement._

_**Current Chapter:**_

Gibbs and Tony rounded a path of trees into a small clearing seeing the cabin. They stopped dead as they heard screaming, the screaming stopped after a moment and it stayed quiet for a minute or so before they heard someone shout and more screams from who they knew was Jenny.

They quietly made their way up to the side of the cabin, making sure to stay out of the line of sight from the windows. Tony covered Gibbs' back while he took point at the cabin door.

He listened for a moment hearing footsteps retreating from near the door; he heard a door shut and very soft footsteps before he heard another door shut. Knowing this was the best chance they were going to get, Gibbs opened the door quietly and peeked his head around it, making sure the coast was clear, never assume, double check. Seeing no one, he opened the door all the way and entered signaling to Tony for him to enter as well.

Shutting the door, Tony and Gibbs quickly searched the upper level of the cabin, and when they found no one, they very quietly made their way over to the door, which they believed led to the basement.

When they opened it, there was a staircase and another door. Gibbs signaled to Tony to follow him quietly down the stairs, but to leave the door open incase they needed to get out swiftly.

They heard Jenny and who they believe to be Mira arguing. Knowing they had to wait a minute before barging in, the stopped at the door and listened to what was being said, well shouted.

Mira was accusing Jenny of killing her child and not wanting it, while Jenny was shouting she didn't mean it.

That scared Gibbs, knowing that was what Mira wanted to hear so she could kill her and Ziva, he knew they should probably barge in now and take Mira down, but when Jenny shouted about paying for it, and went on to show exactly _how_ she was paying for it, Gibbs froze with what he was hearing.

How many other people did she leave for her job and leave a _note_ breaking up, well that's what he was assuming she meant by the note, it was way too much of a coincidence, one that he had a hard time _not_ believing in.

The child Jenny lost, the child she was yelling to Mark about loosing, the child he had assumed to be some other mans baby, was _his_? He and Jenny had a baby, well sort of, he corrected himself. She carried his child, but left him because of it, and yet he was the only man she had ever loved? It didn't add up.

Why would she think that if she told him about the child he would hate her? _'Kelly.'_ Was all his mind said before guilt started to consume him, knowing that she had to suffer by her self, and all he did to help, was give her more of a hard time…he was broken from his train of thought when Tony nudged his side and got him focused again.

They did a three count before Tony kicked the door open. Before Gibbs even had a second to enter the room a gun shot went off.

Not wanting to believe they had spooked Mira into shooting Jenny of Ziva Gibbs pushed his was into the room, and for a moment he thought they had, seeing as Jenny's entire torso was covered in blood, but he heard a large thump that drew his attention to Mira's lifeless body.

He breathed a sigh of relief before looking back to Jenny who was soaked with blood without a shirt to clearly show the damage she had taken, he ran over to her holstering his gun, leaving Tony to make sure Mira was really dead and to help Ziva.

"Jen? Jen, can you hear me?" Gibbs asked one hand grabbing the side of her face and neck, while the other brushed her hair out of her face so he could see her eyes.

"Jen, please, answer me!" Gibbs said starting to get scared once again that she was past breaking point.

"I'm so sorry Jethro!" Jenny said looking down as more sobs wracked her frame.

"Shhh, Jen, its fine, you have nothing to be sorry for, it's fine…" Gibbs tried to sooth, not caring about the child he could have had at the moment.

"I KILLED OUR CHILD!" Jenny shouted snapping her head up and starring into his eyes. "I killed our baby!" She said defeated as more sobs escaped.

"You're okay, that's all I care about Jen, nothing else is worth that okay? Now hold on." Gibbs said as he undid her restraints. She fell into him not having the strength to hold herself up.

Gibbs went to wrap his arms around her back when he caught site of it, it was covered in long jagged cuts like the ones on her front, but deeper and longer.

He looped his arm around her upped shoulders while his other wrapped its way around her head pulling her into his neck.

"God, I'm so sorry Jenny!" Gibbs said not letting his grip on her go.

"Can we… *sob*…can we just leave…*sob*…please?" Jenny pleaded wanting to get out of here as soon as possible. She felt Gibbs nod before he pulled back slightly and picked her up bridal style, careful to not touch any of her wounds.

"Tony, you're driving, Ziva, you alright?" He asked as he felt Jenny clutch his shirt and turn her head into him, hiding her face from the others.

"I am fine, hurry, she needs to get help, Portsmouth Naval Hospital is just under an hour away, with normal driving, are you sure you do not want me to drive Gibbs? I promise you I am fine." Gibbs considered Ziva for a bit, but when Jenny's grip on him tightened her nodded and they left the basement, leaving Mira's body for now, they had more important things to worry about at the moment.

They took longer than Gibbs would have liked to make it back to the car, but he couldn't do much seeing as he was carrying Jenny.

When they reached the car, Gibbs ordered Tony to open the back door, knowing it would be easier to put her in a somewhat comfortable position in the back over the front, see as the driving was not going to be smooth…at all.

He carefully sat down in the back, still holding onto Jenny, and when he was completely in Tony shut the door and jumped in the front, he barely had time to buckle before Ziva was zipping through the trees.

"Ziva you know…" Tony started only to be interrupted.

"Yes Tony, I know where we are going, I can see the road ways near the theme park." She answered before pushing the car to go faster.

"Jen? You still with me?" Gibbs asked brushing her hair out of her face with the hand that was holding her legs before they had been supported by his own.

"Trying." Jenny bit as a groan of pain escaped at a particularly sharp turn causing her to push against Gibbs where her wounds were.

"Jen…" Gibbs started not knowing what to say, but feeling like he was going to break down himself at seeing her like this. He shouldn't have let her leave their complex, he should have made her stay with him, or he sure as hell should have known that something wasn't right when he woke up in the morning…her voice broke him of his self blame.

"Stop blaming yourself, it's not going to change anything, just in the future, don't take so damn long!" Jenny said laughing a bit before it became too painful and she moaned causing Gibbs to hold her head closer to him bringing his own down on top of hers.

"Hold on Jen, I'm here, hold on." Gibbs said quietly hoping to sooth her somewhat.

He felt her breathing even out and knew she was asleep. He looked down to her still uncovered torso and took in every detail of the torture she had endured. She had six gashes from a knife it looked like, and her skin was puckered and blistered as if she had been burned multiple times, the burn trails went all different directions on her torso flowing off to her sides. He noted that the right side had much more damage than the other, actually, the left side only had a few burn trails, he wound keep that in mind for later.

He couldn't believe how much damage had been done to her in such a short amount of time. Something about Jenny must have pushed Mira to the edge, she normally kept her hostages for days to torture them slowly, but never had he seen any come in with this many wounds from only a day, _less_ than a day!

He was pissed that Tony had given Mira such an easy way out, no pain whatsoever! Then again, he remembered him mentioning him seeing her holding a Gun to Jenny, so if he hadn't shot her dead, then Jenny may not even be…_ 'STOP!'_ he shouted to himself.

He just continued to look at her bloodied body until he felt the car jerk to a stop.

He looked up first, but a loud gasp of pain brought his full attention back to Jenny who had her eyes clamped shut and her face screwed up in pain.

"Hold on Jenny!" Gibbs said using his free hand to throw open the door before quickly, but gently got Jenny and himself out of the car. He adjusted his hold on her to make sure he wasn't on any painful spots, but her deep breathing continued, telling Gibbs just how much pain she was in. The endorphins her body released during the trauma must be wearing off. He cringed as she let out another shot of pain and squeezed herself closer to him.

"We're here Jenny, hold on!" Gibbs said running towards the hospital entrance.

When the doors swooshed open he wasted no time on the audible gasps of shock and worry he heard, focusing completely on the gasps and squirms of pain from the women in his arms and finding someone who could help her.

He spotted a doctor at the table in the back of the room and shouted for him. The doctor looked up and when he saw the man holding the body of completely blood covered women gasping in pain he ran over indicating them to get a gurney.

"What happened?" The doctor demanded once he got to Gibbs and Jenny.

"No time, we need to get her on morphine…" Gibbs said, but once he saw a gurney coming towards them he changed what he was about to say. "She has knife wounds all over her back; put her on pain medication first!" Gibbs ordered. The doctor looked at him in shock.

"Her back as well? Can she stand?" He asked not believing she could. When the man in front of him shook his head he opted for another way to get her to his ICU room besides the gurney. "Can you carry her to my room?" He asked.

"Yeah, and I'll hold her till the morphine kicks in." Gibbs said without any room for argument.

"This way." The doctor said before taking off in the direction of his specific ICU room.

"Just a few more minutes Jen, then you'll be back to running your agency in no time." Gibbs said trying to bring her mind off the tremendous pain he knew she was in as tears flowed down her cheeks once again.

"Excuse me." The doctor said as he led them down another corridor. "Is she by any chance the Director of NCIS in Washington?"

"Yes, I'm Agent Gibbs, and you?"

"Doctor Andrew Kohler, head of medicine, looks like you got the right guy." Kohler replied as they rounder the last corner and he led Gibbs into one of the ICU rooms.

"Alright, give me one second here…" he drifted of as he grabbed a syringe with a clear liquid he assumed was morphine. A few seconds later, Jenny's moans of pain subsided to nothing but shallow breathing.

Jenny unclamped her eyes and rolled her head to the side grinning slightly as she looked at Gibbs.

"Hey there stud!" Jenny said before breaking down in giggles.

Gibbs looked at her as if she was crazy before laughing slightly at her actions. He looked at the doctor as if to explain the sudden shift.

"I put her on more morphine than normal seeing as how much damage she has to her torso, she'll continue to get a bit loopy for a bit for lack of a better description. She'll most likely say things she doesn't mean and there's a high chance she won't remember what she said and or will say." He informed. "I will be right back, I need to get her check in and registered before I can start, you can set her on the bed, or continue to hold her, it's up to you." Kohler informed before walking out of the room and shutting the door behind him.

"You alright to lay on the bed Jen?" Gibbs asked wanting to make sure it wouldn't put her in more pain.

Jenny looked at him goofily before answering. "Only if you're under me in said bed." She said bringing her hand up to stroke it down his chest causing him to shiver.

Gibbs could barely hold back the shiver of pleasure at her suggestions, but he knew she wasn't in her right state of mind.

"Jen, I don't think Mark would like that too much…" he said drifting off as she arched backwards pushing her bra clad chest out.

"You don't want me?" She asked somewhere Jenny knew what she was doing was not right at all, but she couldn't get that thought into her mind to actually _stop_ her from flirting shamelessly with Gibbs.

"Jen!" Gibbs said pleading her to stop talking; it was only going to make things harder for him once she got married.

"Ughh! You're such a pilly willy!" Jenny said like a five year old that's just been told she can't have a Barbie.

"Yeah, okay Jen!" Gibbs said laughing at her before asking her how she was feeling.

"Bad, I feel like I did something very, very bad…do you know what I did, what happened…hello! Anybody out there!" Jenny shouted giggling.

"Come on Jen, let's lay you down…"

"Yes I will get you into bed!" Jenny shouted giddily.

"Whatever you say, tell me if it hurts…"

"I can take it." Jen said as Gibbs lowered her onto the bed, but froze at her implications.

"Jen, stop…" Gibbs said as he continued to lower her.

Once she was place completely on the bed, Gibbs drew his hands away from her carefully and bent down to look into her eyes to see if she was alright.

"Jen, does your back hurt?" He asked, and she just stared at him for a moment before speaking.

"Ya know what, you are incredibly sexy…" Jenny said as if she were contemplating it, Gibbs froze at her words, then all of a sudden he felt himself being pulled towards the bed before his mouth was captured by hers, he almost gave in, but remembered she wouldn't remember and that he had to get over her. She was engaged for God's sake!

He pulled away and went to sit in the chair by her bed to compose himself.

Jenny knew she had just done something wrong, but couldn't remember what it was. She just looked at Gibbs and stared.

"Good night sexy man…" Jenny said drifting out under the effects of the drug.

"God, will you be embarrassed when you wake up!" Gibbs said laughing, planning on making her squirm like she did to him.

**A/N: So? Good? Bad? Tell me what you think, I would love to know! Next chapter Jenny faces embarrassment, while she suffers from pain, hmm, sounds good! Review, and who knows, you may get another chapter within a few days *hint hint* **


	33. Chapter 30

**A/N: So sorry for the delay in updating, college is a bitch, as is writer's block, I am hoping to just write this chapter and break through it, as well as hoping the chapter turns out good…hmm, off I goes**** Enjoy!**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS!**

_**Last Chapter:**_

_"Ya know what, you are incredibly sexy…" Jenny said as if she were contemplating it, Gibbs froze at her words, then all of a sudden he felt himself being pulled towards the bed before his mouth was captured by hers, he almost gave in, but remembered she wouldn't remember and that he had to get over her. She was engaged for God's sake!_

_He pulled away and went to sit in the chair by her bed to compose himself._

_Jenny knew she had just done something wrong, but couldn't remember what it was. She just looked at Gibbs and stared._

_"Good night sexy man…" Jenny said drifting out under the effects of the drug._

_"God, will you be embarrassed when you wake up!" Gibbs said laughing, planning on making her squirm like she did to him._

_**Current Chapter:**_

Doctor Kohler had just entered the room when Gibbs was getting off the phone with Tony and Ziva, having told them where they were and to wait until he came to get them…however, Ziva refused and told Tony to stay there, that she had to see Jenny.

So Doctor Kohler was just about to open start checking Jenny over when Ziva came bustling into the room.

"Ziva…" Gibbs started to be interrupted by him holding her hand up and walking over to Jenny's bedside.

"I was the one with her when she was bring tortured, so I am the one best suited to answer the questions Gibbs." She challenged him, but he reluctantly gave in knowing Ziva could help Jenny more than he could at the moment.

Ziva then proceeded to inform Dr. Kohler of everything that had happened, from the moment they had been captured, to the minute they got here. Gibbs couldn't help himself, when Ziva was retelling Mira's actions towards Jenny; he had to step out of the room to compose himself for a minute before coming back and listening to the rest of the story.

"Alright, well, we'll let her rest until this batch leaves her system, then I'll put her on a safe dosage, she may be in some pain, but it will be very minute, from what you have told me Miss David, I believe it would be wiser to keep a low dosage, just enough to keep the pained dulled somewhat. It's not safe to give much more on a patient that had recently had a three month coma, she could relapse if her body senses too much of the dosage…"

"Are you saying she could relapse and go into a coma from what you just gave her?" Gibbs was panicked, but put on his usual front; he couldn't go through that again.

"No, at least the chances are very small, no her body will most likely be able to use the amount of medicine in her now to dull the pain, I am worried however to use it in the future.

"You see, a one shot like in her system is one thing, her body will use it up and that will be that, but much like any drug, if the body has had trauma in the past, much like Jennifer has, they used morphine while she was in a coma.

"The thing is, the body starts to put itself back into the state it was when it originally subjected to a normal steady amount…"

"So, what you're saying is, there's a possibility that Director Shepard's body will put itself into a coma if you give her a regular dose of morphine, even if it's in small quantities?" Gibbs asked trying to be professional to hide his fear. It was either have her in tremendous amounts of pain, or have a possibility, and a strong one at the look the doctor was giving that she could slip into a coma again…life really sucked sometimes!

"That is exactly what I am saying, but there's more to it than that." He looked at the man in front of him and the female standing besides him looking wide eyed between the man, the woman currently unconscious and himself.

"Look, Jennifer has not been out of her previous coma for long, if her body falls into another one, it is very possible that she may not come out of it for longer than three months, if ever. When dealing with recent coma patients, you have to be _extremely_ careful with how and what you treat them with. We are still unsure of what the brain does to put ones self into a coma, and why it keeps it there.

"We believe that with ones such as Jennifer who were given a substance for over a month everyday while being unconscious, that the body becomes addicted to it, and the brain interprets, that the body was getting it when it was shut down. It puts itself into a coma because it believes that it the way to supply the body with what it is craving…do you understand?" Kohler asked wanting to make sure they knew what the possible consequences of giving their director a pain killer was.

"I know exactly what you are saying. Look, I'll talk to her when she wakes up and let her know what her options are and what could result from it…now are you saying, even the smallest amount of pain killers could cause this?" Gibbs asked feeling Ziva's hand on is arm slightly giving some form of strength.

"I am afraid that is the case, but we have other methods that can help the body, there is always the ice bath, although freezing, it helps to numb the body, there's also alcohol, but I wouldn't suggest it, however, it would effectively have her pass out…but that's not what we want to do, my suggestion would be for her to go into an ice bath every time the pain becomes unbearable, then as soon as she gets out, pat dry her, have her lie down and put a layer of salt on each wound…" he stopped as both faces suddenly looked as if he had grown two heads.

"Salt helps to numb, you just don't want to apply it while you can feel. Anyways, when she starts to feel it again, which will be roughly five to ten minutes, take aloe, pure aloe, not the knock off stuff, I'll write a prescription of it, and coat her entire torso, back, front, sides, everywhere on her torso.

"Aloe helps to numb slightly and sooth, it is also an excellent herb that helps to heal faster. I know she will be in pain, but it is the safest method to go about doing, the others have too high of a risk.

"No Tylenol, nothing but what I have told you…oh, and she will need someone to do this procedure…since she needs to be cleaned now, are either of you going to be watching over her once she leaves?" He asked mainly looking at Agent Gibbs because of how he had acted when he had brought her in.

Ziva and Gibbs looked at each other before they both replied it would be best if they did the procedure this time in case one of them was unavailable when she needed it done.

Kohler nodded his head and started to wheel Jenny's gurney out of the room and down the hall.

Ziva looked at Gibbs and noticed the look on his face, she wanted to ask if he was okay, but knowing she wouldn't get an answer, she merely nudged him slightly to get him to follow after Jenny.

Gibbs couldn't believe this, as of right now it wasn't certain that the method they were going to take would be the one they were currently on their way to do, after all, the final decision was up to Jen…that's what scared him.

If she was in a ton of pain when she woke up, he was terrified that she would ask for the morphine, he just had to make sure he was able to explain to her before she asked for it.

"Alright, Agent Gibbs…" Kohler looked to the women not knowing her name.

"Ziva." She said nodding her head in greeting.

"Pleasure, just wish it was under different circumstances.

"Agent Gibbs, can you please lift her and hold onto her while Ziva strips her down…" Gibbs took a deep breath and lifted Jenny's unconscious form off of the bed not looking as Ziva approached and shed Jenny's remaining clothing.

He knew he had to look at Jenny while he was cleaning her wounds, he had already told himself he was going to be taking care of her when she was released, Mark be damned; he wasn't taking any chances.

Steeling himself he looked towards Kohler who was filling a bath shower typed thing…it was shaped like a bath tub, but there was a covering on it, sort of mesh like and above it was a large shower head. Kohler indicated he set Jenny down on her back on top of the mesh like fabric so he did, and Kohler turned on the shower head.

"Perfect temperature, you don't have to worry about setting it every time, it stays a lukewarm temperature all the time." He said before handing the two of them clothes, as well as himself.

"Now, most of the blood has been washed away, what you do now it, you have to clean every wound individually. You take the sides and pull them apart slightly before taking your cloth with soap and water and very gently running it along the wound you have to make sure you get all the ways into the wound, but be sure not to cause anymore damage okay." He said demonstrating.

Ziva and Gibbs hesitantly did as the doctor had instructed and were relieved when Kohler had told them they had done a fine job.

"Alright, now the hard part, because her back still needs to be rinsed and wiped down and the front is properly cleaned and rinsed, she needs to be held up by one person while two of us clean her wounds on her back." He informed before going to get two clean cloths.

Gibbs hesitated before gently grabbing Jen by the shoulders and pulling her towards his body, he arched her back somewhat so the skin wasn't too taunt that Ziva and Kohler couldn't clean the wounds.

"Okay, the wounds are clean, not when you do this next time, you will not clean the wounds until after she has been sitting in the ice bath for twenty minutes, that will numb them enough that she doesn't feel the pain as much. After you finishing cleaning them, she will go back to the ice bath for twenty minutes, which we'll do right now, agent Gibbs?" He asked indicating for him to lift Jenny and bring her over to the ice bath that was across the small room.

Gibbs did as instructed and slowly started to lower Jenny into the freezing water.

He froze when he heard her mumble something and her head move forward until it hit his chest. He waited for something more, but when nothing came he continued to place her all the way into the bath. It wasn't long before her body started to shiver, but he was relieved she stayed unconscious, he knew better than anyone here how much of a pain a cold Jenny is.

Twenty minutes later Gibbs was pulling a shaking Jenny from the bath, he couldn't believe how cold her skin was, although, she _had_ been sitting in ice water for the past twenty minutes, it will do that to you!

"Now to take the salt, it can be normal table sale, ant just open each cut that opens without much prodding and sprinkle it in between as well as a layer on top of the wound…yes, just like that!" Kohler nodded when both Ziva and Gibbs correctly did a wound.

They had finished with the salt and Jenny's convulsions finally started to lessen, although, they certainly didn't stop.

Five minutes passes before Kohler gave the aloe he wanted them to use to each Ziva and Gibbs, instructing them to apply a ting, but noticeable layer all over her torso. They awkwardly wrapped her in one of those awful hospital gowns before laying her back in her gurney and brought her back to her room. Gibbs asked for a blanket for her, but Kohler informed him that her body had to stay cold otherwise the feeling would come back too soon.

Great it wasn't going to be just dealing with Jenny being freezing in the ice bath, but her being freezing constantly, or in pain, oh boy, someone _loved_ them!

He had taken up residence by her bedside and Ziva waited a moment before telling him she was going to go inform Tony. Gibbs merely nodded in her direction while watching as Jenny tried to burrow herself into a non existent blanket.

He was starting to loose himself to his thoughts when he heard a very different noise some from her mouth besides the low mews he had been hearing.

"sooo…colllldddd…" She said her teeth chattering. That was it, Gibbs knew she was starting to wake up; he moved his chair closer to her bed and waited until she was awake enough to be able to listen to him clearly.

**A/N: So? What do you think…and by the way, I do know that both salt and aloe are good for open wounds, as well as alcohol even though it hurts like a bitch, however, everything else medical…well I pretty much made it all up…I mean, I know you have to clean a wound like that, but the whole thing with the meds and coma thing…yup, all me, but I needed it to be so, besides, I think its somewhat interesting if that actually **_**did**_** happen…anyways, let me know what you think and would like to see happen in the next chapter. Thanks again^.^**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS!**

**~Quibilah**


	34. Chapter 31

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, not as many as I'd like, but seeing as I hadn't updated for months, it's understandable. I'm starting to get over this writer's block and now there's going to be some…fun, hmmm, off I go:) Enjoy!**

**Happy Late New Years!  
**

_**Last Chapter:**_

"_So, what you're saying is, there's a possibility that Director Shepard's body will put itself into a coma if you give her a regular dose of morphine, even if it's in small quantities?"_

"…_Jennifer has not been out of her previous coma for long, if her body falls into another one, it is very possible that she may not come out of it for longer than three months, if ever..."_

"…_you will not clean the wounds until after she has been sitting in the ice bath for twenty minutes, that will numb them enough that she doesn't feel the pain as much. After you finishing cleaning them, she will go back to the ice bath for twenty minutes…"_

"…_take the salt, it can be normal table sale, ant just open each cut that opens without much prodding and sprinkle it in between as well as a layer on top of the wound, five minutes later apply a thin, but noticeable layer all over her torso…"_

"_sooo…colllldddd…" She said her teeth chattering. That was it, Gibbs knew she was starting to wake up; he moved his chair closer to her bed and waited until she was awake enough to be able to listen to him clearly._

_**Current Chapter:**_

"Jen?" Gibbs said scooting closer to her as her eyes opened before shutting tightly again and opening once more.

"Jethro?" Jenny croaked before gasping and arching her back slightly.

"Jen? You alright?" Gibbs asked; standing and hovering over her, getting ready to lift her and start the ice bath procedure if needed.

"Oh…god!" Jenny said, not being able to escape the pain, arching her back off the bed just increased the pain in both her back and front, but lying on her back made it feel as if the knife was being dug into her once again. A loud moan of pain escaped as her eyes clamped shut again and her hands fisted in the sheets.

"Shit!" Gibbs said before he gently, but swiftly lifted her off the bed and carried her out of her room and down the hallway towards the room Dr. Kohler had set aside for them for privacy, Jenny being the director of NCIS and all.

"Jen? Jen listen to me okay?" Gibbs asked and after a minute she nodded faintly showing she was listening. "I need to remove your clothes and place you in an ice bath, trust me on this okay." He said when he saw she was going to try to dispute his instructions.

"You better…ugh! Keep your eyes to yourself! Godd!" She was able to get out before the pain took over again. She was in so much pain that she couldn't believe she was able to find room to feel self conscious about him seeing her without any clothes on after nine years…it also was concerning her that she was _showing_ she was worried about it.

"Scouts honor!" Gibbs said adding a joking note to it to try and get her mind off some of the pain. He had just gotten to the bath room and was about to lay her down so he could start filling the bath when he noticed how tightly she was clinging to his shirt.

"Jen...I need to set you down so I can get the bath ready…Jen?" He said when she gave no indication she had heard him. He positioned her in a way where she would be sitting on the mesh shower/bath and slowly edged her grip off his shirt. "Hold on Jen!" Gibbs said as she started to shake with the sobs of pain she was trying to fight off and failing to do just that.

Gibbs rushed around the room loading bags and bags of ice into the tub while starting the water on as cold as it would allow. Less than five minutes later the ice bath was ready and Gibbs was gently removing Jen's hospital gown, keeping his eyes from roaming over her mangled, yet still attractive body. He finished removing the gown and placed it next to her before lifting Jenny into his arms again.

"Brace yourself Jen, its cold." He said and got a grunt in reply. He slowly started to place her in the tub; _that_ certainly got a reaction out of her. Her eyes snapped open and she clutched his shirt tighter trying to lift herself out of the freezing bath.

"Jenn…!" He warned as he continued to lower her into the water as her fight increased.

"ITS FREEZING!" She said, desperately trying to get out of the bath.

"JEN!" Gibbs ordered and got her protests to ease slightly, yet she was still trying to get out of the cold water, he knew it wasn't going to be easy getting her to go into and _stay_ in the bath.

"_Jethro!_" She bit back snapping her glare to him as he finished lowering her into the bath. He slowly took his hands back while keeping her glare challenging her to try and get out.

Less than a minute later her hands grasped the baths edges and she tried to hoist herself out of the bath.

"Ah ah, ah!" Gibbs said placing one hand on her right shoulder, the other on her left hip and pushed down slightly, making it impossible for her to get out.

"_You_ try sitting in _freezing_ water! See how _you _like it!" She grumbled trying to block out the warmth that was somehow spreading through her from where his hand was on her bare hip and shoulder.

"Yeah, well, get used to it Jen, it's the way _you_ are going to get better, it's too dangerous to use pain medicine, morphine especially!" He said keeping his hands firmly on her hip and shoulder, the more she moved, the more damage her wounds would suffer.

"What…?" She said staying still for a moment; she had to go into this _thing_ more than _once_!

"Your body could put itself back into a coma thinking that it is the way to provide your body with the drug…you'd have to ask Dr. Kohler about it, but he advices this treatment over anything. There's too much risk with the other ones…"

"Wouldn't that be _my_ decision if it was too dangerous!" She argued, her pain finally starting to numb slightly from the cold, but that didn't stop her body from convulsing every so often from the temperature of the water.

"Jen, don't!" Gibbs said starting to get worried she was going to choose the risky road instead of the cold, awkward, safe route.

"Why?" She argued being stubborn.

"Because _you_ might not wake up this time!" Gibbs almost shouted causing her to cringe away from him slightly.

"Maybe that's a risk I'm willing to ta…" She started, just because she was trying to fight off the emotions that were overcoming her from his show of caring.

"DON'T!" He did shout this time as he cut her off, but seeing her reaction to it, he tried again, only with more emotion this time "Please, Jen…" He said starring so intently at her that she didn't trust her voice to speak. Instead she simply nodded.

"Alright then, you have to stay in here for twenty minutes, then I have to apply salt to your wounds…it won't hurt…much…" he said seeing the fear on her face. "Five minutes after that I have to put a layer of aloe on your entire torso. It's going to be a painful and cold process Jen, but trust me, it's the safest way." Gibbs tried to ease some of the fear, but he wasn't one to lie about what was going to happen.

"How long do I have to stay here?" Jenny asked wanting to leave the hospital as soon as she could, she always hated hospitals.

"Dr. Kohler hasn't said, I'll buzz him to let him know you're awake. Promise you won't try to get ou…?" He was in the middle of asking when her expression made him stop.

"Can't you wait till this whole things done…I don't want him to see me…just wait, nothings going to happen…" She said pleading slightly.

"After." Gibbs agreed knowing how uncomfortable she must feel not being able to wear any clothing.

"Thank you Jethro." Jenny said as her body started to shake more. She went to lean forwards to try to make herself warmer somewhat when she was reminded that Gibbs' hands were still preventing her from moving, that and the slight pain that shot through her entire body.

She felt her face heat up with the knowledge that she didn't have a scrap of clothing on, and here Jethro was looking at her and holding her down.

He seemed to notice at the same time because there was the slightest hint of red creeping up his neck and his hands seemed to strengthen their hold for a minute before loosening them to where he was just barely touching her.

"You won't get out?" He asked looking just above her eye line knowing he would most likely embarrass himself further.

She was stunned, did he like her or not?

_'Doesn't matter what he does, you are engaged to a wonderful man, who you _know_ loves you. You do not have to _guess_ with Mark, he shows you! Stop wasting your time on a memory!' _Her inner self shouted at her and she had to agree with it, though it made her miserable, she knew it was the truth.

Gibbs and her were her past, a memory that was fading away as each day went on. Mark was her future, not Gibbs.

She stiffly nodded her head not wanting to look at him for fear that she would see no emotion on his face, with her breakthrough came grief, and the hold on that grief would certainly be let go if she saw his emotionless face staring back at her.

She felt him pull his hands away, but refused to look at him as he stood and walked away from the tub.

She was numb, but not from the cold, from her grief. It was at that moment however that she became aware of just how badly her body was convulsing from the cold, and possibly the amount of control it was taking to hold the tears at bay.

Gibbs turned around as he heard Jenny's teeth start to chatter.

"Jen…?" He asked getting worried slightly, she was only in there for just over ten minutes so far!

"Fine…just…very…_very_...cold!" She said closing her eyes and breathing deeply trying to trick her mind into thinking it was warmer, it helped slightly…for a minute or so at least till she started to numb from the cold and she relaxed slightly.

Her body was still shaking, but she could handle that, she wasn't sure about the cold, who ever was going to be watching her while she healed would be in for one hell of a fight, she knew that for sure!

Gibbs watched from his position at the table, feeling terrible that she had to go through this. That she would have to deal with him for at least a few weeks, when he _knew_ she wanted anything but. Knowing that it wasn't just going to be difficult for him to get her into the bath, but how much more difficult it was going to be having to watch her shiver, with nothing on, apply salt to her wounds, and rub aloe on her nude torso, and _not_ get closer to her.

He knew he still loved her, he also knew he was still _extremely_ attracted to her, and she subconsciously moved and did certain things that made him very…noticeably attracted to her to put it nicely.

And yet, the worst thing he knew was that the woman he loved had moved on and was about to marry another man, at least, he believed she had, when she was feeling a bit better, he was going to gently approach the subject of her torture, not asking anything like if she still had feelings for him, but if she remembered anything from the time her and Ziva were captured to the point where she was placed unconscious from the morphine, and if so what? Till then, he was going to assume she _had_ moved on.

But, if she answers nothing, like he was expecting her to, then it is going to be his own personal living _hell_!

He looked at the clock a few minutes later and saw she only had five more minutes in the ice bath. He started to set up the table they had used earlier with the salt and aloe, as well as the cloths to clean any wound that needed to be cleaned.

He had just finished when he noticed her breath coming in gasps, he looked back and noted her lips were deep blue and her face had almost no color.

"Alright Jen, close enough, lets go." He said hoisting her gently out of the tub where she immediately curled into him for warmth.

"No Jen; can't do that, your body has to stay cold, come one, we're almost done here." He soothed as he laid her down on her back.

He took the cloth and went to start cleaning the jagged wound by using his thumb and pointer to ease it open slightly. He cringed as she let out a low grunt of pain.

"Jen?" He asked looking towards her eyes.

"Not as bad as it was before…doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, just hurry…please!" She said between her teeth chattering.

He did hurry cleaning the wounds on the front, but he made sure not to cause any more damage. He grabbed the salt and hesitated, if she felt him cleaning the wounds, she wound most likely feel the salt on them…

"Just…do it!" She ordered, the pain already starting to come back without anything to numb it. She felt him spread a wound again and bit her lip to keep from groaning; however she could keep the small shout back when she felt the salt hit them.

"Unngg! Jesus _CHRIST_!" She lashed out at the pain, but dug her fingers into Gibbs' side to keep from moving because she knew it was going to help her.

"Shit!" Gibbs said under his breath as he picked up the pace, trying as hard as he could to ignore Jenny's fingers digging into him like they had years ago…_ 'FOCUS!'_

He quickly finished with the salt on the front and knew he had to wait to apply the aloe, so he gently lifted/rolled her over so she was lying on her stomach.

Jenny reached out towards his side, but grabbed his upper thigh this time. She knew her back was going to hurt more because it had been out of the ice water longer and had many more wounds. She needed to feel him, to have him transfer strength, even if it was just grabbing him with her hand, it helped.

"Ready…?" Gibbs said wanting to stop, but knowing the pain that would come if he did would be ten times worse, at _least_.

"Uh huh…" She mumbled before bracing herself. It was much harder to hold back the groans of pain and she knew her lip must be bleeding with how hard she was biting it. She was also thinking that Gibbs was most likely going to have quite a few cuts on his side and thigh from her nails digging into him.

"Alright Jenny, easy," he removed her hand from his thigh before flipping her over once more so she was on her back, "we're done with everything but the aloe, and Dr. Kohler said it would soothe okay…Jen?" He asked grabbing her hand that was reaching for his side and squeezing it. He bent down to her level and used his free hand to brush some hair out of her eyes before lightly shaking it to bring her back from the pain.

"Mmmhhmm, I could use some soothing right about now Jethro." She said keeping her eyes closed, the pain was dulling rapidly, but it was still there and she didn't want to see his face at the moment.

"Alright then." He said before starting to apply the aloe all over her front as gently as he could. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help but think about how this would have played out had they still been together…_ 'Leroy Jethro Gibbs!'_ he scolded as he mentally head-slapped himself with the thought.

He finished the applying the aloe on her front torso, wrists, ankles, and right foot before he asked if she could sit up so he could apply his to her back, and a small grimace from her later she was holding herself up as he applied the aloe to her back.

He finished and grabbed her hospital gown before wrapping it around her.

"You think you can walk back to the room Jen?" He said his eyes level to hers as he used one hand to hold it there and the other wipe the blood from her lips before he used it to sweep her bangs to the side.

She knew she couldn't, she didn't have the strength, yet she also didn't want to appear weak, damn her need to be strong in front of him! She hesitated before nodding her head.

She knew he didn't buy it as soon as she did it, his face showed it and a moment later she was being swept backwards and being carried out of the room bridal style.

"You know Jen, me being an 'incredibly sexy _pilly willy_', I know when you're lying." He smirked as he continued walking; it was just too good to not tease her about it.

And, by her reaction to the words, she remembered them. Her face unburied itself from his chest so fast he thought she might have given herself whiplash when she looked straight at him.

As soon as he said those words she remembered saying them. She could not believe it! _'Come on ground! Any second now, come on, just open and swallow me up, come on…!'_ She said to herself wishing she had the strength to walk.

He was going to make her feel like a fool no doubt with the things she had said and implied.

It was thinking about that conversation that made her try to remember what happened before the conversation, but the last thing she could remember was Mira dragging a knife across her back multiple times. As soon as the memory came to her she arched in pain, but it wasn't because she was _actually_ in pain, it was the pain she remembered from the incident.

Gibbs stopped immediately when she arched in pain.

"Jenn?" He asked staring at her eyes that had clamped shut. She opened them and looked around wildly for a moment before meeting his gaze.

"Jethro?" She asked wanting to make sure it was real, her memory was so strong!

"Yeah Jenny, it's me, you okay?" He asked as he started walking again, already people were watching and he knew she, nor him for that matter, wanted a public audience.

"Yeah, I was just trying to remember how I got here…to the hospital I mean, I can't remember…or how I got out…oh my god! Is Ziva okay?" She asked panicking as they turned into her room.

"I am fine Jenny; do you not remember Gibbs and Tony saving us?" She asked as her and Tony stood.

Jenny looked around at the three pairs of eyes that were waiting for her answer as Gibbs laid her on her bed. "…nooo…in fact, last thing I remember is being cut by Mira…"

"When?" Ziva asked knowing she'd be able to pin point how much memory she was missing.

"…My back…Umm, it just kept going, over and over again…I felt…eight…nine…cuts before the last one, but that's it…I can't remember anything else…" She said her eyes screwing up as she tried to remember, but all that came was her making a fool of herself in front of Jethro.

"It was right before you went unconscious, she poured something on you, it smelled like rubbing alcohol, and then, what I believe was salt, you screamed and lost consciousness…" Ziva informed looking towards Jenny, while taking note of how Gibbs' face had screwed up slightly when Jenny was saying what had happened.

"Then what?" Jenny asked wanting to know what happened, Ziva's face blanched slightly and her gaze snapped to Gibbs, in which when her gaze went to him, he refused to meet hers.

"Ziva…?" She asked hoping with everything she had she didn't reveal anything about her feelings and her and Gibbs' almost child.

She saw as Gibbs turned his eyes to Ziva and communicate with her, she knew what he was saying with it; _'Leave it out!'_ leave 'what' out she wasn't sure, but she knew it was one of two things, and she didn't want to know which one it was to be honest.

"You woke up and said you did not think you were going to make it, yelled you were trying, which got Mira's attention. She came down and cut you more before going back and grabbing a gun. She demanded you to say you killed your child…" She looked at Gibbs before back to her, hoping Jenny wouldn't see through the lie, "you did not, you repeated that it was his choice to join, but she was loosing patience. She was about to kill you when Tony busted through the door and killed her…" Gibbs interrupted at that moment.

"We came in, got you and Ziva out of the restraints and drove straight here. You lost consciousness when we were driving…"

"You're not telling me something." She said staring at him, not wanting to know, but needing to at the same time.

"You said 'sorry' to me, but I don't know what you meant, unless you would care to share…?" he said wishing she would believe it, which by the look on her face she was.

"I don't know why, even with that I can't remember any of it. I can't think of anything I would need to apologize about, you Ziva?" She said fixing Ziva with a glare, much like Gibbs had.

"No, not at all, you said nothing that would warrant an apology to Gibbs, perhaps that you did not think he would arrive in time?" She gave an alternative. She wanted Jenny to tell Gibbs about the miscarriage on her own. And from the way things were playing out, so did Gibbs. It was Jenny's choice to tell him, and it had to be left up to her.

"That must have been it!" Jenny jumped at it still not looking at Gibbs, her eye was twitching like there was no tomorrow and she didn't want him to know she was lying.

"Makes sense." Gibbs played along.

"…it _does_?...OW! Ziva!" Tony shouted as Ziva stomped on his foot and gave him a glare that said he had best shut his mouth before she did something worse!

"We will wait in the lobby, Abby refused to wait until we arrived home, and she should be here any minute, so…" Ziva said walking out of the room with Tony, hoping Jenny and Gibbs would work it out!

"Why did you and Gibbs lie back there?" Tony asked completely confused about what just happened.

"Gibbs wants Jenny to tell him about the miscarriage herself, he's leaving it up to her…"

"It's not just the miscarriage he lied about Zeev…"

"What?" She stopped and looked at him.

"We heard Jenny as she was yelling at Mira, we heard her say she killed the child of the only man she had ever loved…then she tells Gibbs she killed their baby…I mean come one Ziva, Gibbs is smart, he's going to make the connection!" Tony said excitedly.

"This is not good Tony! Jenny cannot remember it; therefore, in her mind she never said it. She's getting married in two months Tony…"

"Yeah, but you don't honestly think Gibbs is going to let her now…do you?" Tony asked starting to think he was.

"As far as Gibbs knows, Jenny was being broken, she was extremely emotional and not in her right state of mind. So to him, she could very well have just said it, but not meant it. He's not going to interfere and break up a relationship, especially when she's happy…"

"But she's _not_! How could he think that…"

"Because he is Gibbs! He wants her to tell him when she _is_ in her right state of mind, when there is no doubt she knows what she is saying and that she means it. He will not bring it up and risk messing up their already fragile relationship incase she doesn't return the feelings…"

"I don't understand how he doesn't see it!"

"She doesn't either! We were arguing about it when we were captured, she refused to listen to me…"

"But that's what I'm saying, it's so obvious…"

"Think about it like this Tony; when you were with Jeanne, I had no idea you had feelings for me, Gibbs and Hollis, I do not believe she knows they broke up. Now imagine I got engaged to…let us take Mark for example. I get engaged to Mark, and look happy to you. Then I admit something about having feelings for you after being tortured as Jenny was, but cannot remember it and continue with my plans to get married to Mark. What would you do if I asked what happened in those memories I cannot remember?"

"I see you're point, and just so you know Ziva, I love you, Jeanne was just a substitute, as Mark is for Jenny okay, don't forget that!" He said hugging her to him before pulling back and kissing her passionately.

"MOMMYYYY!" Ara shouted as she ran down the hallway towards Ziva who quickly bent down in time to catch an almost flying Ara before standing and twirling her around.

"How's my baby girl?" Ziva asked having missed Ara more than anything when she thought she wasn't going to get to return to her.

"Mommy!" Ara said breaking down crying again.

"Shhh, hey, I'm okay, it's alright, Ara, I'm here." Ziva soothed rocker her daughter back and forth while running her hand over her hair repeatedly.

"Isss so scared mommy!" Ara said clinging as if her mother would disappear if she loosened her grip at all.

"I know baby, its okay, I am fine, and so is Jenny, she is just in a lot of pain, but she will be fine okay?" Ziva said walking back down the hallway towards Jenny's room with Ara, letting Tony fill Abby, Ducky and McGee in on what had happened.

Ara didn't need to hear the details of what Jenny went through, but Ziva knew she needed to see Jenny and make sure she was okay.

**A/N: So? What do you think? I actually like this chapter a lot, and I finally finished it**** Let me know what you all thought and what you would like to see happen in the next chapter, thanks again^.^**

**~Quibilah**


	35. Chapter 32

**A/N: First I would like to make a HUGE apology for how long it has been since I updated ANY of my stories, the only thing I can say for it is life kept getting in the way and massive writer's block! But I'm back, on vacation, and hoping to get some chapters out, hopefully at least one for each story in the works! Have no idea where this one's going to go, but enjoy ^.^**

_**Last Chapter:**_

'_Doesn't matter what he does, you are engaged to a wonderful man, who you _know_ loves you. You do not have to _guess_ with Mark, he shows you! Stop wasting your time on a memory!'…_

"_Yeah, I was just trying to remember how I got here…to the hospital I mean, I can't remember…or how I got out…_

"_Gibbs wants Jenny to tell him about the miscarriage herself, he's leaving it up to her…"_

"_It's not just the miscarriage he lied about Zeev…"_

"_What?" She stopped and looked at him._

"_We heard Jenny as she was yelling at Mira, we heard her say she killed the child of the only man she had ever loved…then she tells Gibbs she killed their baby…I mean come one Ziva, Gibbs is smart, he's going to make the connection!"_

_Ara didn't need to hear the details of what Jenny went through, but Ziva knew she needed to see Jenny and make sure she was okay._

_**Current Chapter:**_

Ziva was just about to round the corner when she heard Jenny speaking.

"You do realize that I know you and Ziva left something out, if I didn't notice the obvious look you gave her, I certainly wasn't stupid enough to miss DiNozzo's spilling of the beans to put it. Care to share what that was, Gibbs?"

She just couldn't let it be, she hated knowing there were things that she could have said, but not knowing which thing, if any of the major secrets she gave away was killing her.

She studied Gibbs' face the entire time and could have sworn she saw an internal battle going on at whether or not he should tell her.

Gibbs would love to tell her exactly what she said…but at the same time he didn't want to find out that she was out of her mind when she said it, there were just too many variables to take the risk!

"You said nothi…"

"Yes, you see, the problem with that is I don't believe you." She interrupted before he could finish.

"Jen, if you don't remember, it is not important, you were not in your right state of mind, nothing you said was taken seriously…"

"Then why won't anybody tell me? I would like to know what I said even if Id didn't mean it!" Jenny was starting to get frustrated and worried, if she said something that they all heard and they thought she was being broken, it had to be something serious, especially since no one was telling her anything!

Ziva waited a minute hoping Gibbs would say _something_ and speed the whole truth telling process up a little bit, they only had two months! When he said nothing, she nodded to Ara and rounded the corner acting as if she hadn't heard anything.

Jenny looked both startled and frustrated, while Gibbs hid his shock of someone walking in.

"Ara wanted to make sure you were okay Jenny…I hope you are in for some company, not sure how much longer Tony's going to be able to hold Abby back…unless Gibbs wants to…" She started which he took the bait and excused himself to go talk with Abby.

"JENNY! I WAS SO SCARED!" Ara said crying again reaching to hug Jenny before she widened her eyes in fear and Ziva grabbed her just before she flung herself on Jenny's torso.

"Sweetie, remember how I said Jenny's in a lot of pain, you have to be gentle, and you can't touch her stomach okay?"

Ara nodded understanding, and instead gently sat down next to Jenny looking towards her and grabbed her hand with both of hers.

"Will you be okay Jenny?" Ara asked letting a few tears to continue falling.

"Hey honey, I'll be fine, your mom made sure of that!" Jenny said making sure Ziva knew how grateful she was of everything Ziva did for her, even if it didn't look like much, she was the reason Jenny was able to hold on for so long.

"Did grandpa take care of you?" Ara asked sweetly and innocently while Ziva had to fight back the grin trying to take over at the look of confusion on Jenny's face.

"Grandpa? Who's that Ara?" She had an inkling, but didn't exactly want to acknowledge it.

"Grandpa Jethro…and you're my grandma…I only have one other Grandpa, so you're my only grandma Jenny." Ara said snuggling up to Jenny's arm trying to make sure she didn't hurt Jenny at all.

"Grandma…well…it's a bit earlier than I thought it'd be…" Jenny said in shock until Ziva started laughing slightly.

"Mommy and Daddy…that's what we all say…well…she's my daughter, therefore that makes you Grandma…how's it feel mom?" Ziva asked fully laughing now and all Jenny could do is laugh with her while Ara grinned and hugged Jenny's arm tighter starting to finally drift off to sleep.

It was fairly quiet for a couple minutes in which both women noticed Ara was asleep, Jenny tried one last time to figure out what she had given away hoping Ziva would tell her.

"Ziva please, I need to know what I said!" She pleaded and after a minute Ziva decided to let Jenny know what she said.

Jenny couldn't believe it…she had given away her two most kept secrets…but there was something missing….

"How did Gibbs react?" She asked desperately needing to know, this would decide what decision she was going to make about her future.

"That I will not say, If you want to know how he reacted, then you will have to tell him yourself…again, when he knows you're in your right state of mind and will take you seriously, until then, all I can say is he definitely had a reaction, good or bad, I will not say…"

"Ziva!" Jenny pleaded.

"You have to talk with Gibbs to find that out Jenny…"

"Ask me to find out what?" Gibbs asked just coming in, not having heard anything before that line.

"When I can get out of here, you said you were going to ask the doctor…" Jenny said not ready to confront Gibbs about either secret yet. She didn't have the strength if he had an ill reaction to the news…which she was leaning towards the knowledge that he had based on the reasoning-that Ziva wouldn't tell her bad news, but would want to share good news with her.

"Mmm." Gibbs grunted not believing her seeing as her eye was twitching…_ 'So we're back to this are we?'_ He guessed Ziva had told her what Jenny had said, but refused to say how he had reacted, and without having that information, she was going to continue lying to him about her feelings and their almost child. _'Almost back to even ground then Jen!'_

Sensing the tension in the room Ziva roused Ara and started to carry her out of the room, just as they were leaving Ara decided to wake up enough to blurt out a goodbye.

"Goodnight Grandma and Grandpa, see you in the morning, I love you!" This time it wasn't Just Ziva that burst out laughing, Jenny jumped in at the beginning as well seeing Jethro's face much like hers had been minutes before.

"We're no longer just 'Mommy and Daddy' now; we get to be 'Grandma and Grandpa' too!

"Think they're trying to tell us something?" Jenny asked jokingly not really thinking till it was out of her mouth.

"That we act like an old married couple." He answered watching her face show color again.

"…Right…well…I guess you'll be leaving too for the night?" She asked not daring to look in his eyes.

"Nope, you get a whole night with me…" It was his turn to blush a tad before he tried to backtrack somewhat. "Someone has to be here to give you treatments as needed, and since I don't think you'd want a stranger doing it, Ziva and Ara need to see each other, you're stuck with me.

"…You're not sleeping in this bed!" She said somewhat joking.

"Wouldn't dream of it Jen." Gibbs joked back, only problem was, Jenny didn't catch the joking manner and took it as only more confirmation that his reaction to the news was the opposite of what she wanted. Therefore strengthening her resolve to continue with her plans to not tell him anything and marry Mark in two months…however much that road was looking less appealing as the days went by.

**A/N: So? I know it's really short…please don't hate me, just trying to get over the writer's block, I hope to have another out soon, thanks again, hope you all liked it. Please review and let me know what you thought and/or would like to see happen! **

**~Quibilah^.^**


	36. Chapter 33

**A/N: First, I'd like to apologize for the wait on this one, I am really, REALLY starting to hate writer's block and being sick all the time! I'm just going to write and see where it goes…it's seemed to work well in the past…anyways, hope you all like it, review and let me know what you think! Enjoy!**

_**Last Chapter:**_

_Jenny couldn't believe it…she had given away her two most kept secrets…_

"_How did Gibbs react?" She asked desperately needing to know, this would decide what decision she was going to make about her future._

_You have to talk with Gibbs to find that out Jenny…"_

_Therefore strengthening her resolve to continue with her plans to not tell him anything and marry Mark in two months…however much that road was looking less appealing as the days went by._

_**Current Chapter:**_

"Did you talk to Dr. Kohler yet?" Jenny asked trying to change the subject as well as get an answer to her previous question.

"He was with another patient; he should be here soon…"

"I'm here now agent Gibbs." Dr. Kohler announced making his way into the room with a smile on his face. Gibbs merely nodded and stepped out of the Doctors way.

"Hello Director Shepard…"

"Jenny please."

"Jenny, how are you feeling, any pain?"

"It's not bad." Jenny lied feeling the twinges of pain that shot through her when she moved even the slightest amount.

"Hmm!" Gibbs grunted with a knowing look on his face, but the glare Jenny was sending in his direction was enough to keep him from voicing his thoughts on her lie.

"And have you decided on what route you are going to choose to go through?" He asked planning to talk her into the ice bath procedure.

"I have a question about that…"

"Jen!" Gibbs jumped in thinking she was considering the alternative route, but Jenny just continued on as if Gibbs hadn't spoken.

"I was wondering why you chose not to give me stitches." Jenny was seriously confused as to why that hadn't been the first thing they had done.

"That's a great question and exactly what I was going to offer next."

"…okay…?" Jenny said not really seeing where Dr. Kohler was headed.

"Generally, every single wound you have would be stitched up already, however, your situation is different and we wanted to consult you first before acting.

"You see, a lot of your wounds are near joints on your back and areas that move easily, therefore, stitching would make sense and we recommend it to help prevent tearing or bunching while the wounds heal.

"However, there will be a lot of pulling on your skin, and it is already very irritated due to the knife cuts.

"Our main concern was the burns on your torso and side, as well as the few on your back. Burns are very easily infected, and are extremely temperamental, even when they're small; yours cover a large amount of your torso where we would need to stitch if we were to do stitches.

"You also cannot get the sutures wet for twenty four hours after they are put in. With the treatment we highly recommend for the pain that is the opposite of what is needed.

"I am unsure as to what Agent Gibbs has told you, but your brain has already showed a slight spike when we gave you morphine when you came in. That could indicate what we fear, which is your body relapsing into a coma. One, which based on your previous one, we fear you may not wake up from.

"We would not, unless you strongly insist, use any morphine after the sutures are put in, so the pain the following 24 hours would be almost unbearable. The only way we could numb it is by using bags of ice wrapped up to ensure no water can come into contact with the sutures, which would increase the likelihood of infection.

"It would help some, but the pain would be hell, excuse my French. Now, keeping all this in mind, we still highly recommend you get stitches for the wounds on your back and after 24 hours from the surgery you continue with the ice baths and cleanings, though…" as Kohler turned to Gibbs to address him "the procedure would be slightly different."

Jenny didn't know what to do, she was already in pain, and she hadn't been out of the ice bath for more than an hour in a half!

She didn't notice Gibbs telling Dr. Kohler to give them a moment and they'll call him when they decide. Didn't notice him walking towards her and start speaking to her.

She jumped, and regretted it with the shot of pain, when his hands found one of hers and the side of her face.

"Jen?" Gibbs asked concerned with everything he just heard and her reaction, which was reasonable considering!

"Jen, hey look at me, we need to decide what to do, and the sooner we do it, the sooner you can get out of here." Gibbs said gently moving his thumb back and forth across her cheek trying to get a reaction out of her. He knew she hated hospitals as much as he did.

"How bad is it?" She asked still looking straight ahead.

"What…?" Gibbs asked not sure what she was asking exactly.

"My back, my front, how bad is it!" She bit out not looking down at herself. She hadn't had the thoughts cross her mind yet surprisingly. She knew she had looked pretty good for her age before she was shot, but afterwards she was somewhat self conscious.

She hadn't allowed Mark to see her without making sure her wounds were covered, mainly because she didn't want him to see her without clothing at all, which she was trying to get over, but also for fear that he would leave after seeing the ugly scars. Now this happens? She knew she was going to be disfigured for the rest of her life with these scars, and people always said; guys don't like woman with scars.

She knew her face and figure were still attractive, but if she were to sleep with anyone, they would be completely turned off by the damage of her body and leave without a second thought. Not that she was thinking about going out and sleeping around on her fiancée, but she knew his reaction would probably be the same. And she was trying to actually _care_ that that would be his reaction…and she was failing at it, all that was running through her head mainly was that Gibbs probably didn't even want to be here having seen the damage done, and if for some chance a miracle happened that allowed a chance for her and Gibbs to have a relationship again, he wouldn't take it, hell, he'd run in the opposite direction.

"There's some pretty deep wounds all over your torso, your front has burn marks covering most of it, trailing down your sides, your right foot is burned pretty badly as well, and you've got some pretty deep restraint cuts on your wrists, shoulders, hips, and ankles…" he wasn't going to lie, she was in bad shape, but he didn't really know why her face had taken on a depressed almost helpless look before he told her all of this. If anything he would expect pain, anger, _something_ other than defeat.

"Jen? I know this is a stupid question, but are you alright?" He asked gently turning her head till she was looking at him. He watched as her eyes twitched before closing gently and nodding her head.

"Yeah, just wondering what Mark's reaction will be…" she faltered in her lie and ended her sentence when she felt his thumb stop stroking her cheek and the hand holding hers twitched tighter before loosening to just barely touching hers.

Gibbs didn't know how to respond, he keeps forgetting about _him_ and having these rude wake up calls just as he started to loose himself in her.

"Don't worry about it Jen…"

"Of course I'm going to worry about it! I look like I was mauled! No one wants to have to see someone so hideous let alone _sleep_ with them!" She half shouted keeping mind of the doctors and nurses that could overhear.

"Jen! Knock it off! He loves you!" never mind his own anger at her insinuations, to him she was still gorgeous; he didn't think anything would change his mind about that, but he could tell she was breaking again and needed help.

"Love can only go so far Jethro…" She broke of whispering as she pulled her hand completely out of his grasp and rolling onto her side that wasn't so damaged.

He stayed silent knowing just how true that sentence was. He just watched her shoulders heave ever so slightly with her breathing until he thought she was asleep. He stood up and quietly walked over to the other side of the bed so he could see her face.

He leaned in gently and kissed her forehead, lingering as he closed his eyes from the force of emotion rolling within him.

"You are _still_ beautiful Jen." He whispered pulling away and walking out to speak to Ducky, who was waiting to speak with him, leaving the barely conscious Jenny to dream/ponder on his words.

"Jethro, how is she?" Ducky asked coming over to stand with Gibbs where they had the privacy from onlookers. Word had gotten out that the Director of NCIS was once again in the hospital and people wanted to get all the information they could.

Gibbs indicated Ducky walk with him till he led him back to the room beside Jenny's to talk.

"Jethro?" Ducky asked concerned with the look on Gibbs' face as he starred at Jennifer sleeping in the joining room.

"I don't know what to do Duck." He admitted with defeat shaking his head.

"Yes you do Jethro, you have to be there for her…"

"She doesn't want that Duck, she's made it clear…"

"Of coarse she does, you're the only one other than Ziva she trusts so completely. She's pushing you away out of fear…"

"Fear of _what_?" He barked quietly clearly frustrated. "Fear that I might find out she had a miscarriage? Fear that I'll find out I was the father? Fear that I will hate her if I find out? She shouldn't _fear_ any of that…!" he said the last part so low he knew Ducky wouldn't hear, but he was so caught up in his own anger and frustration over everything that he forgot Ducky hadn't know anything about Jenny previously being pregnant.

"Jennifer was _pregnant_?" He asked with disbelief turning his own gaze to Jenny's form trying to picture her pregnant which brought a small smile to his face before he remembered Jethro had said she'd had a miscarriage.

"Apparently…" at Ducky's look he sighed before going in to tell him what he'd overheard Jenny telling Marl over the phone, and what she's shouted at Mira right before Tony shot her, as well as the fact that she couldn't remember saying those things.

"You have to tell her Jethro!" Ducky knew of the feelings shared yet not shared between the two, he knew he had nothing to fear, but he saw the doubt in Gibbs' eyes.

"Duck, she was being broken, if you had heard her while she was shouting…no, it was like she was _there_, right after it happened, not years later, engaged to a man who loves her and makes her happy. No Duck, I'm not causing her anymore pain, I will not ruin her chance of a happy life…"

"Jethro! You wouldn't ruin anything! Yes, she loves Mark, but not the same way she loves _you_! You have to see that!" Ducky could feel the pain of both Jenny and Jethro, he saw them as his own kids, he loved them both so much, and with all they had suffered already, no he needed to make them see their happiness was with each other.

"No Duck, she loves what we used to be…"

"Jethro…!"

"She's got Mark and I'm not going to ruin that for something that may or may not have a chance, not when she can be happy with him!" Gibbs interrupted ending the conversation between them and walking out of the room.

"But she's _not_ happy with him." Ducky said to himself defeated before walking quietly into Jenny's room and taking up residence in the chair.

**A/N:….hmmm….not sure what to think…at least I have ideas coming quickly for the next chapter now. Kind of sad writing this, but I feel like Gibbs would really act like that if Jenny seemed happy with someone else…anyways, let me know what you thought. I'm hoping to get her out of the hospital with the next chapter or two… **

**~Quibilah**


	37. Chapter 34

**Authors Note:**** I am SOOOO sorry for the delay in posting…it's been over a year since I posted the last chapter and other than saying writer's block, school and work all suck, there's nothing else to excuse the lack of updates…and I hate to say it, but this chapter is rather short and not exactly happy…but hopefully what gets slipped in at the end will make you a little happy…and the fact that I have already started to work on the next chapter…hopefully I've still got some readers…**

It's been three days since Jenny woke up in the hospital and found out that; her body was torn up, she couldn't have pain medicine, she confessed her love to Gibbs, and worst of all, informed him that she not only had been pregnant with their child when she left him in Paris, but she had then, lost that child.

She knew he wouldn't push her right when she woke up after playing stupid, she also knew that he knew she was lying when she said she didn't remember anything. What she didn't expect to happen was for him to act like nothing had happened at all. He didn't come to see her unless he was summoned to take care of her.

After the awkwardness of the ice bath three days ago, they both thought that Ziva should try to help, her being her best female friend, but it didn't work. Ziva couldn't keep her in the water, and couldn't deal with causing Jenny the pain that came with salting and cleansing her wounds.

Abby, Tim, Tony, Ziva, Ara and Ducky would come every day and sit with her, one of them always being there, but as soon as they noticed her beginning to cringe and tighten her hold on the sheets, they would excuse themselves and call Gibbs. No matter how hard Jenny tried to prevent it and mask her pain, in the end, it always ended the same; Gibbs getting called and holding her down in an ice bath before cleansing her wounds.

If she were being a hundred percent honest with herself, it hurt like hell that he didn't come to see her until beckoned by someone to take care of her. It rivaled the physical pain, but what made the pain worse was his silence.

It was always silent save for her grunts of pain and shivering. It was common knowledge that Gibbs was a man of few words, but it had gotten to the point where she could count the number of times he had spoken in the past three days on two hands and still have fingers to spare. It was also common knowledge that he was a master of masking his emotions, so when she did see him she saw a blank faced silent man.

But when she wasn't clenching her eyes shut from the pain, she would catch glimpses of hurt and loss on his face. Of course, as soon as he caught her looking at them, those traces disappeared, but seeing them was driving her mad, seeing him in so much pain over having lost another child and knowing she was the reason for that was too much, she couldn't take it much longer.

She needed to get out of here before she lost it and truly confessed everything. All she wanted to do was apologize until nothing would come out from her mouth, and still try to say she was sorry, to ask him for forgiveness and tell him she never wanted it to happen, and for him to please give her a second chance because she couldn't imagine being happy without him.

But she wouldn't, she knew she couldn't do that, it would only wind up with both of them in more pain then they were already, and she had no right to ask him to forgive her and allow themselves a second chance after what she had done. She knew the only reason he still was seeing her at all was because he felt responsible for what happened to her.

She didn't want his pity, she wanted him to be angry with her, to yell at her for not telling him was going to be a father, for leaving him alone in Paris, for giving up on them. At the same time though, she wanted him to gather her in his arms and not let go, for him to tell her he forgave her and grant her the happy ending that should've occurred.

And THIS was precisely the reason she needed to get out of here. The end of her rope had been reached and she was hanging on with the tips of her fingers, but it was slipping from her grasp. And this was exactly why she had just exploded at Tony and Ziva demanding them to get her out of here already!

She felt guilty about yelling at the two of them, but hoped Ziva could explain what why she yelled at him without telling him of her feelings, little did she know, he already knew the main reason…and little did she know getting out of here wasn't going to help her.

After the conversation he had with Ducky, he promised himself he was going to put distance between himself and Jenny. It hurt too much to have heard she still loved him then to take it all back and continue with her plans to get married to another man.

He knew that he should take his head out of his ass, and tell her he knew everything and tell her it was fine, and that he forgave her, but he couldn't bring himself to allow that thought to gain much weight. The problem was, it was beginning to.

He stayed at the plantation unless he was called to take care of Jenny. He both dreaded and looked forward to these calls…he got to see Jenny and be with her and help her through her pain, but knew that it was all he would get. He would always start thinking that shortly, she was going to belong to another man, he would be the one who helped her, not him, he would be the one who stayed with her through a hard part, not him.

He'd get consumed with these thoughts that he hadn't realized he had let his emotions play out on his face. That is, until he would catch her looking at him with a look of sadness, devastation and pain on her own face…he was just interpreting it the wrong way, he was taking it as pity on him and pain from her wounds.

Tony had just called him with a slightly scared voice telling him she'd snapped. That she was demanding to get out of here and go home. The team hadn't voiced it, but Gibbs could tell DiNozzo was trying to find the right way to word it without his boss exploding on him. After him tripping over his words for a minute, he took pity on the man and barked for him to spill it.

'_Boss, they're waiting till you get here to release her…but they're only going to do it if you promise that you'll be the one to stay and take care of her…'_

Gibbs had hung up after that, taking the time of the short trip from the plantation to the hospital to mull over how he was going to handle this conversation. He knew he'd agree and follow his word, but getting both Jenny and Mark to agree, well…that'd be another obstacle, though he thought Jenny would be more willing than Mark, if nothing else then to get out of the hospital, that was one thing they definitely had in common, their hatred of hospitals.

"Get me out of here already!" Jenny yelled to the shadows she could see outside her door.

Finally! The handle was turning, it's about damn time she thought, this had been going on for twenty minutes already!

Gibbs walked through the door and her relief dissipated completely. She tried to read him, but he was doing an exceptional job masking his emotions today.

"Jen"

"Oh, now you're speaking to me!" She knew she was acting childish, but at the moment she couldn't act like an adult, she was in the middle of loosing it, and him being here was making it ten times harder for her to reign it back in.

"You haven't exactly been chatty yourself director." He bit back, trying to control himself as well.

"What do you want? I don't need another treatment at the moment so why don't you disappear again and come back when one of them calls for you, I know you don't want to be here." She said, her voice threatening to break while she felt a tear start to form in her eyes. Quickly blinking the tear away she looked out towards the window to avoid his gaze.

And there goes the mixed feelings again, he wanted to run to her and gather her in his arms and tell her he never wanted to leave her side again, however cliché the line was, but he couldn't.

"Jen, they called me because they said you were loosing it…"

"I'm not loosing it! I just don't see the reason in staying here when I can go home and have everything that's happening here, be done there!" She growled while still looking out the window.

"And who's going to perform the treatments for you?" Why does everything have to be so difficult for them!

And here she paused, she didn't think about that…she wanted out of here to stop having to deal with Gibbs…but knew no one else was going to be able to take care of her except for him, they already found out Ziva couldn't, and there was no way Mark could do it…

"Mark will do it…" Why, why can't she just make things simple and be honest for once!

"Really? You think he will be able to hold you in ice water all the while you and your body fighting it, and then properly cleanse your wounds and salt them?"

"Well YOU wont do it, so he'll have to do!" She shouted, knowing he was trying to escape from helping, but not understanding why he was arguing with her.

"Because YOU don't want me to, and because you want your fiancé to take care of you, I hate to tell you this, but you're going to be here for awhile."

"…what…?" She asked, not understanding exactly what was going on…was he trying to help her, or trying to tell her he didn't really want to help…

"What, what?" He asked confused in slight shock after blowing up slightly.

"You want to help me…?" her voice was low, but they were both starring at each other now, so the words made it to their intended destination.

'_Get ahold of yourself! Put some distance! She's NOT confessing her love for you! She's asking a damn reasonable question!'_

He made his way towards the door, stopping as his hand grabbed the knob, "You're hurt and it's my fault, of course I would help, no matter what you think Jenny, I don't hate you, I would take care of anyone in the family, especially the mother, you should know that by now." He said softly without turning his head before opening the door and closing it behind him.

He needed to take a minute to compose himself before talking to the doctor. He couldn't believe he'd let that slip…but when it came to Jenny, none of his plans seemed to work the way he wanted. So once again, he began to place his broken heart under her heel.

**Authors Note:**** So? Hopefully the insanely long wait was somewhat worth it…? Next chapter should be out within two weeks I'm hoping, more hoping within a week…and it should involve some Mark as well…review if you'd like anything specific to happen and I'll see what I can do ^.^**


	38. Chapter 35

**IMPORTANT! Authors Note:**** Well, I didn't really want to put this out because I only received 2 reviews but a ton of 'so and so is following Second Chances' And thankfully I was still on the kick of writing before I lost it. The main reason I am posting is because it had been over a year since I last updated, but if I don't get a few more reviews this time, I won't put out another chapter…it's you guy's response that makes me excited to write, but if there's no excitement, then nothing comes to mind and writer's block hits hard. Just a, 'I liked this', or 'not my favorite' even, something to keep me feeling like people are still interested in reading, because if not I won't waste my time writing this and I'll work on something else.**

**Anyways, rant over…not sure you'll all be happy with it seeing as it is another angsty one…and SOO far from what I was originally planning…it may shorten the story though, may need to do a different ending then what I was planning…but we'll see ^.^**

Jenny started to cry as soon as the door was closed. She knew she'd hurt him again, and she hated that she couldn't stop herself, it was the furthest thing from what she wanted to do.

She heard the door handle turning and tried to wipe the tears from her face as quickly as possible, but it wasn't fast enough, Ara and Ziva both saw.

"Jenny! What's wrong, you okay?" Ara said running up to the bed, her eyes starting to tear up with Jenny's distress.

She couldn't help but let out a small laugh with some more tears, "Yeah hunny, I'm okay…"

"But you're crying, do you hurt? I'll go get Gibbs…"

"NO!" Jenny shouted panicked as she grabbed Ara gently…but felt bad as soon as she saw the little girls eyes widen, "No, sweetie, I just…it's not that kind of pain, it's complicated…" Trying to explain something to a child was harder then she thought.

"Can he make it go away?" She was smarter than Jenny gave her credit for, at first she was scared she'd done something wrong, but now she understood why both her and Gibbs looked so sad.

Jenny looked towards Ziva who was still leaning against the closed door with her arms crossed, giving them their space. Ziva shrugged her shoulders giving her no help to get out of the situation.

"It's not that easy Ara…"

"But he's sad too." She said frowning with her head tilted a bit.

Jenny let out a sigh and looked to the window trying to compose herself before replying. "I know…"

"But you both can be happy!"

"I wish it were that simple, but there's so many reasons it can't be…"

"You love him don't you?" Jenny's eyes went wide as they snapped to Ziva…who had snuck out of the room.

"Ara…"

"Do you love grandpa?" she wasn't going to let it drop this time, she didn't like to see her new grandparents hurting.

"More then I want to, and more than he knows…"

"But you can tell him…you can be happy!"

"Ara, it's more complicated than that. I have a fiancé and he's moved on, and there's…other reasons, there's too many things that make it so we can't happen…"

"But he hasn't moved on, he loves you too, that's why he's so sad!"

"No…no he doesn't sweetie, he's sad because he lost his baby…and it was my fault." Jenny said trying to get the little girl to see reason.

"I don't get it? Can't you guys just go find it?" She didn't understand, if they lost their child, why weren't they working together to find it?

"Oh honey, I wish it were that simple! But our baby died before being born…" She started crying harder this time and closed her eyes taking deep breaths trying to regain control. She felt the bed dip and Ara hug her in the position she knew wouldn't hurt her.

"I'm sorry gramma" Ara was crying onto Jenny's shoulder, she still didn't completely understand the concept of babies and death, but she knew it meant you could never see them again.

"I know baby, but that's why Gibbs is sad, I kept his baby a secret from him and it died."

"He still loves you, and he's sad because he thinks you've moved on…he doesn't want to make you unhappy but it hurts him to not love you." Ara said keeping her head ducked down.

"I really wish that were true, but it's just not as easy as that, it never is between us."

"But…it…can bee.." Ara barely managed to get out before falling asleep.

"I wish it could be." Jenny whispered before falling asleep herself.

This was the scene that Gibbs walked back into, he could tell both of them had been crying, but both were clearly exhausted so he didn't wake them. Instead he did what he'd been wanting to do for days, pulled up a chair as quietly as he could and just watched Jenny sleeping with Ara, imagining it was their little girl.

With that image in his head he was able to finally fall asleep with a smile on his face. That is until he was woken up by Ara crawling into his lap a little while later.

"Hi granpa" She said between yawning and snuggling into his arms.

"Hey peanut." A genuine smile crossed his face as Ara looked up at him with a look of bewilderment on her face.

"I'm not a peanut!" She whispered back, trying to make sure they didn't wake up Jenny.

"Mhmm." Was all he did before looking at Jenny to see she was still sleeping, and a frown crossed his face because this was something he could never have.

"You know she's really sad." Ara said softly.

"Yeah? Is that why she was crying?"

"Mhmm, we were talking about you."

"Oh, she's not happy that I have to take care of her is she?" He said trying to figure out what was really going on.

"No, she's sad because she thinks you don't love her anymore and your baby died." She hugged Gibbs as tight as she could knowing he was hurting too.

"Ara…"

"I know you're sad too because you think she's moved on too…but that's not true…"

"She's getting married Ara, I have to move on." Why were kids so darn nosy!

"But it could be to you…talk to her granpa, I don't like you guys being so sad, it makes me sad." And that was the last Ara said before bounding out the door closing it hard enough to wake up Jenny.

She woke with a start thinking she was about to get attacked, but after a minute she realized she was still in the hospital. Knowing she'd fallen asleep with Ara, she started to look around for her.

"She just left." Her eyes swiveled around so fast she thought they'd pop right out. She couldn't help but think of what Ara said as she met his gaze, which seemed to be holding more emotion than usual.

"Oh…"

"She said some interesting things just a second ago…" He wasn't going to push, but he was curious.

"Yeah, she's rather talkative today; she must be tir…ed." No! Not now!

"Jenny?" Gibbs asked not sure if it was just because she was still tired, or if she was in pain.

"Jethro…help" her nap put her past when she would normally get a treatment so the pain was coming fast and she was trying everything to focus on remaining breathing slowly.

"Hold on Jen." He said scooping her up and moving as quickly as he could to start setting up the ice treatment, all the while Jenny's moans and loose sobs becoming more frequent.

About ten minutes later she was finally starting to numb from the pain, enough that the tears stopped rolling down her face. Gibbs took his thumb to wipe the tear streaks from her face and left his hand there, just watching her.

Jenny jumped when she felt his hand on her cheek, and met his gaze. She was just about to blurt everything out when she saw Dr. Kohler's picture on the wall, and what came out instead was:

"So can we leave after this?"…uh…what?! Why did you do that!

Gibbs was a little taken aback and released his hold on her cheek before looking away from her.

"Yeah, all the paper work's almost all filed out, but the only way for them to allow you to be released is if we both agree and sign that I will be living with you and taking care of your treatments until you're well enough to do it yourself. If that's okay with you, then all that needs to be done is the papers signed by both of us."

She took a second to think about what that meant. Sure, her house was plenty large enough, but she knew Mark wouldn't be happy that Gibbs was living with her and seeing her naked. But then again, she didn't really care, she wanted out, and if that was what needed to happen, then so be it…and she was also happy that she was going to get to see him more than she had in the past few days…god, she's such a terrible person for doing this to Mark.

"I'm fine with it, Mark may have a problem with it, but I'll talk to him."…really…you just HAD to bring him up…

"Right…okay, then we'll leave as soon as you're ready.

**~PAGEBREAK~**

They were about ten minutes away from Jenny's house, and the ride home hadn't been the most comforting thing, in fact, Jenny was trying her hardest to not make any noise to alert anyone to the pain she was in…she never thought she would look forward to being placed into and ice bath, but at the moment, it was all she wanted.

Thankfully everyone but Ziva and Tony had gone home with Abby and Ducky so they could go straight to Jenny's and give her a treatment before Abby came back with something's Gibbs would need for staying here. Ziva and Tony were going to get everything set up for them while Gibbs helped Jenny.

Gibbs looked over to the passenger seat having not heard anything from Jenny for about fifteen minutes and thinking she'd fallen asleep…he couldn't have been more wrong. She had her eyes clenched shut, with her jaw shut as tight as it would go and her grip on the seat and door handle were so tight that her knuckles were white.

"Dammit!" He said under his breath trying to speed up the car but keep it from going all over the place.

Both Ziva and Tony shared a look knowing what must be happening, and it was only confirmed when they both heard a whimper come from Jenny's mouth after hitting a pothole.

They arrived in half the time and Gibbs grabbed her and walked straight into her house ignoring Mark's demands at what was happening as he carried her into the bathroom. He waited just long enough for Ziva and Tony to carry up the ice they'd brought before slamming the door in Mark's face and locking it.

"HEY! Tell me what the HELL I going on with my fiancé! You let me in there right now!" Mark shouted while banging on the door, Gibbs just turned on the music and switched it to one of Jenny's favorite songs as the tub filled.

"He's…not…very hap..happy" Jenny said though through the waves of pain.

"Well it's a good thing I don't give a damn about that at the moment." He said with his signature grin, which earned a small one from her before she grimaced in pain. "Alright, need help getting the gown off?" She tried to do it herself, but every time she lifted her hand to try, it wound up going straight back to clenching on the counter to support her from collapsing.

"Jen, just let me help you!" He said quickly but gently removing her gown and picking her up to set her in the ice water. As always, she fought it tooth and nail, while whimpering because the struggling was hurting her.

"I know, I know, please Jen, you know it helps, I wish there was something else I could do to help hunny, but there isn't, I'm sorry …" Well…that certainly got her to stop struggling so much and stare at him.

"Thank you Jenny…what?" He said after she continued to stare at him, not realizing what he'd let slip.

"You just called me hunny…" She said starting to feel her teeth chatter.

…crap…"Did I?" Right…because playing stupid always works.

"Yes…you did…why?" Ara was getting to her and she wanted nothing more than for her to be right.

"I…" and that was all he could get out before the door swung open and Mark was standing there, if he wasn't mad before, he was furious now.

"What the HELL are you doing to my fiancé!" Mark said yanking Gibbs to his feet, causing his reflex to grab onto something to kick it…and that something was Jenny, which caused her more pain when he clamped down on her wounds and she let a howl of pain out.

Gibbs turned got his footing and turned around as fast as he could and slammed his fist into the side of Mark's face for making him hurt Jenny more.

"Jen, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." He tried to apologize and get back to her, but Mark grabbed him again and hit his chin.

"Stay the fuck away from her! And what the hell are you doing Jenny, you're engaged, didn't get enough of it in the hotel room, had to bring it back into our house?!" He shouted at Jenny trying to make his way towards her.

It had slipped everyone's mind to call Mark…and her phone was left at Mira's so they didn't get all the missed calls from him. He had just thought she had been ignoring him, and now he sees the guy she used to have a relationship with, a relationship that caused a pregnancy, here in her bathroom with his hands on her while she was in the tub.

"You need to settle down sir." Tony tried to grab Mark, having come running when he heard Mark shouting and Jenny's howl of pain.

"No, _you_ need to get the hell out of here!" He shouted throwing another punch, hitting his mark once again.

"I think not!" Ziva said quickly dropping him to the ground and jamming her knee into his back.

"Jen, you okay?" Gibbs asked finally able to make his way back to her. She still had her eyes shut tight, and her hands hovering over her side. Gibbs grabbed her hand and moved it now able to see that when he had grabbed onto her and been yanked away, he had ripped open a wound and it was bleeding.

"Son of a bitch!" He said trying to control his anger while trying to get Jenny to come back from the pain by placing his hand over the wound gently and his other on her face.

"Jenny, hey, look at me, you're okay."

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!" Mark shouted struggling to get free from Ziva.

"Hey!" She shouted slamming her knee down harder into his spine. While Gibbs shouted back;

"No, YOU back off! YOU did this!" Now Mark was lost, what were they all talking about?

He took a closer look at Jenny and saw that she was clearly in pain, but…she was cheating on him right…?

They stayed like that until Jenny could come out of the bath, and that was when Mark saw that her back and front were littered with cuts and burns.

"What…what happened?!" He said now fighting even more wanting to cause pain to Gibbs, because he had LET this happen to her! He was able to break free from Ziva's grip and kicked her hard in the ribs before making his way over to Gibbs.

"Mark, STOP IT!" Jenny said glaring at him with a look that could kill.

"HE did this to you! HE'S the reason you're in pain, HE was supposed to be protecting you! All of these people are supposed to be protecting you, but you were shot on their watch and mutilated on THEIR watch!"

"I said STOP IT! NOW! They have done the best they could with me, it's MY fault I was shot because I AM the one who went off without them, I am the reason I look like this because I ran out of my room knowing I was a target…"

"But THEY are supposed to keep you safe, and they didn't, and I want them out of my house!"

"MY house! And too damn bad because until I can do this procedure myself Agent Gibbs will be staying here and helping me…"

"Oh no he won't!"

"Then she goes straight back to the hospital where I know she'll get taken care of." Gibbs broke in knowing it was hurting Jenny both physically and emotionally, she hated fighting in front of people with private business, but he was saying everything everyone felt, they all felt responsible for what he had said. But they weren't going to be responsible for her not healing correctly because they left her in the hands of him, he had no idea what to do, and they had promised that THEY would take care of her.

"I think I know how to take care of my fiancé, better then you clearly."

"Gibbs is staying here whether you like it or not, this is MY house, these are MY friends, you are MY fiancé, but if you can't get it through your head that I chose _you_, then get the fuck out of my house!"

Gibbs face became void of emotion as his grip tightened and loosened quickly, Ziva and Tony looked like they wanted to be anywhere but, and Mark was fighting a ton of emotions. The pause was deafening as they waited for his response.

"I'm sorry, I know you wouldn't cheat on me, if you think he can take care of you better than I can, then he can stay, I love you." He said as he went up and kissed her, right in front of Gibbs as he held her steady.

Jenny didn't want this, she wanted him to leave, she wanted him to choose to leave her, to take away the choice she knew she had to make. She allowed him to kiss her because she couldn't really stop it, but when she looked over at Gibbs, she wished she hadn't.

To someone who didn't know him at all, they could see the pain and loss on his face, and she knew, once again, she was the reason.

"Okay, Mark, Ziva, Tony, please leave…I want to get numb before the pain comes back. Mark didn't look like he wanted to leave, but he did, and Ziva and Tony looked the same, but when she pulled the 'Gibbs stare' that she had mastered from her time with him, they left.

"Jethro?" Jenny tried when he stood there. He looked at her and realized she could see what he was feeling, he started to mask his emotions.

"Please…Jethro, don't do this…"

"Don't do what? Come on, we should put you back in the bath for a bit."

"Jethro…"

"Jen, in."

"I'm sorry…" She tried starting to tear up again.

"Nothing to be sorry for, he's your fiancé, you chose him." He said trying to assure her, while trying to keep himself together.

"Jethro, please! Talk to me!" She knew how this was going to end, and she couldn't deal with him being zombie like around her again, this was all going the wrong way!

"There is nothing to say director, I'm here to help you heal, that's it, don't bother yourself worrying about me…"

"No, stop it! Before he barged in here, we were talking about something; I want to finish that talk!" She was desperately trying to cling to the idea that she could fix this, but it was water being held by a flat hand.

"You did finish it, you finished it when you picked him, so why is it so important why I said what I said!?" He pushed himself up off of the tub to get everything ready for after she got out.

"Because it matters to me!" She said trying to grab onto him before he ended the conversation completely.

"Jenny, stop!"

"No, you stop, I am sick of this, ever since I came back this has been going on, and I'm sick of it, we need to finish this conversation!"

"I said what I did because at the time it felt like it used to, you and me, no one else, before everything went to hell. Before you left, and before you got engaged, before I found out that you were pregnant with my child and lost it. I felt like it was us again Jenny, but it's not. You ARE engaged, you're getting married in a month!"

…"I…Jethro, I didn't want, you were…please, I'm sorry, I never wanted…I've ruined everything, Jethro, please forgive me, I can fix this!" She was sobbing now as everything came out in the open.

He was trying hard himself to not cry, he knew he could forgive her for everything, and he wanted to, he really did…but he couldn't bring himself to do it, she was emotional, and he was upset.

"Jen…I'm here to help you because I told the doctor I would and no one else can…don't make things complicated Jenny…" He could hear her sobs increase as he parroted back the words she had said to him her first day on the job.

**Authors Note:**** So…do you hate me now? This story could go two ways and at the moment I'm torn at which way I want to take it…if you want a happy ending or sad ending, let me know, it decides what I'll do in the next chapter…HERE would be where to weigh in with an opinion!**


	39. Chapter 36

**Authors Note:**** Okay…I feel like a jerk, I really was planning on posting this a while ago, but I had finals, then my best friend had her baby early so I had to jump on a plane and spend the week with her, only to come home for two of my jobs to start and then to make it all better, I have pretty bad Bronchitis, a really bad sinus infection and a bacterial infection, so I'm terribly ill. BUT since my birthday's on the 18****th****, I figured, I should celebrate by giving you all this chapter…and you know what would be a great gift, lots of reviews, and with lots of reviews, comes lots more writing **

"Mark, leave already!" Jenny said, looking at the clock by her table for the sixth time in the last ten minutes.

"I don't get it, why can't I stay, you've only been home a week and a half, and in that time, I've barely seen you…"

"That's because I'm healing and that means I need to get my treatment and sleep when I can…"

"So then why are you having them over, can't we just spend the evening alone? Do some wedding planning, it's in less than a month Jen…"

"Jenny!" It was habit by now, correcting him every time he called her Jen instead of Jenny, and lately he seemed to test her patience with it even more, hoping to finally break the, 'only Gibbs calls me that' thought. Usually he would just push it off, but today she could tell it just angered him further and she could feel another fight brewing, as well as the pain in her torso flare.

She wanted him gone from her house before her treatment, which she WANTED to get before Abby and Ziva showed up for the evening.

She also knew that if she called Gibbs in now for a treatment that Mark would lose it on her again. Her treatments were getting further apart, two weeks of healing meant that she could go awhile before needing another treatment, but she had already put this one off, which was WHY she was so eager for Mark to leave so the pain would stop.

"Right, only Jethro can call you that, how could I have forgotten!"

"Mark, knock it off, you know this isn't as big of a deal as you are making it out to be, I just don't like the nickname…"

"And yet he can call you it, and you never correct him, don't you get it!" Mark said throwing his hands in the air as he stopped his pacing and staring directly at her, trying to make her see reason.

"There's no reason to even bother! He doesn't care what I like or want, so no, I don't correct him! What started this tonight?" She asked clenching her fists against the pain.

He stared at her breathing deeply before pointing a finger towards the room Gibbs was occupying.

"Will he be staying?" He asked quietly, clearly holding back his anger.

"Agent Gibbs?" She didn't think about that, she could see why he was a little upset now, but he stayed in his room all day and night unless he needed something or she needed a treatment.

"Is he staying?!" He demanded once again, raising his voice this time.

"Yes, does it matter?!"

"Does it matter?! He's your ex Jenny! He's your ex and he's seen you naked more in the past week then I have since we started dating! I saw how he looked at you when you first got back, how upset he was when you said you chose me. You came out from the bathroom crying and wouldn't even speak to me, let alone let me in your bed…"

"That's because I was in pain!" it wasn't a lie, she felt like she did when she first lost her child, and the love of her life…but he didn't need to know that's the kind of pain she was in.

"Really, that's it? Because he came out of there and after asking if you needed anything, went to the adjacent spare room and hasn't come out except to give you a treatment!"

"Your point?!" it had been hard enough without him pointing everything out.

"What the hell happened?! Every time I ask, you shut me out and I want answers god dammit!"

"Nothing! Nothing happened!" she shouted as tears started to slip from her eyes.

"Then why do you both seem like you just broke up what happened undercover?" he demanded, he asked before and let it drop when she refused to answer, not anymore, he was getting some answers.

"Mark, I told you already, I can't.."

"Can't talk about it! I'm not asking you to tell me what the case was; I'm asking you to tell me what the hell happened between the two of you? What was your role with him? "

She stayed quiet, knowing how he was going to react if she told him.

"What role?!" He shouted.

"It was undercover, it wasn't real, and so it doesn't matter!" She tried once again clenching her eyes shut from the pain.

"Then answer the question!"

"A married couple okay?! We were Tony's parents, happy now!" She had a fleeting thought about what Gibbs was thinking at this moment, knowing he was hearing everything, but it was wiped away pretty quickly by the pain that surged once again.

"Did you kiss him?"

"Mark, come on…."

"Did. You. Kiss. Him!"

"It had to be believable; we had to look like we were in love…" This was not going the way she planned.

"And are you?"

"…what…no, Mark, no, I'm with you!" It was a good response…if only she hadn't hesitated before answering.

He watched her realizing she was, but he didn't want to give her up, especially not to Gibbs, he wanted him to suffer.

"I know, I know, I'm so sorry Jenny, I just can't believe sometimes that you chose me. I love you." He said keeping his smirk at bay while walking over to her and kneeling before her taking her hands in his and kissing her palm.

"…I love you too Mark." Another hesitation, but he didn't care anymore, now he was just keeping her away from Gibbs, if he couldn't truly have her, than he couldn't have her physically, at least he was going to try his best to achieve that.

"Okay, I'm off then, I'll see you tomorrow evening, don't let them get too crazy dear."

"If there was a way to put a cap on Abby, life would be a whole lot easier! Goodbye and goodnight Mark, I'll…see you tomorrow." She could tell something was up, but at the moment she didn't want to question it because that would mean her treatment getting put off even more.

He gave her a kiss goodbye and grabbed his overnight bag on his way out of the room. She waited a minute after the front door closed before walking to the door to get Gibbs. She opened the door to find him waiting there with everything needed in his hands already.

"I've already run the bath so you can hop in whenever you're ready." He said while walking back to the bathroom. She couldn't help the small smile that appeared at him knowing she would need her treatment as soon as possible, but then came the frown because once again he showed he was the better choice than Mark. Which was great, really it was, except for the fact that he no longer talked to her at all unless he needed to tell her something, and had already made it clear that he wasn't interested in giving them another shot.

She was in so much pain and so tired, she didn't even bother trying to hide the sadness from her face as she painfully made her way to the bathroom and started to undress, still needing his help to remove her shirt. The same silence that started almost a week ago continued as she started to get into the bath. And the same routine began once again, her instinct to get away from the cold, and him pushing her back into it till she grew numb and no longer needed him to hold her in place.

"Jethro…?" Jenny asked when she turned her gaze on his back and saw him hunched over and white knuckling the counter.

He'd heard everything, and although he had told Jenny in no simple terms that he was done trying to compete, it still stung. Of course, he knew he hadn't meant what he'd told her, but if she really had feelings for him, then she shouldn't be staying with another man. She should end it, and then see what can happen. There was no way he was going to break up an engagement; he'd had three to many weddings to take another shot for it to fail because she didn't truly love him. He wanted it, oh, he wanted it bad. He wanted to punch Mark in the face and swoop her into his arms and carry her to an alter and finally make her his completely.

But just because he wanted it, didn't mean it was going to happen, in fact, with his luck, it most likely wouldn't happen, the universe seemed to enjoy torturing him too much to allow him to be happy.

It had been almost two weeks of torture giving her, her treatments, almost two weeks of wanting to just grab her and kiss her until she that it was him she cared about, two weeks of resisting that urge, but right now it was stronger then it had been the whole time.

The reason was because of the pause she'd had when Mark asked if she was in love with him. Sure, most people would just ignore it, but he was an investigator, these little slips were what gave a suspect away. So if it was just that and he wasn't so emotionally involved, he wouldn't have hesitated and walked right into the room and kissed her right in front of Mark before telling her how much he loved her.

It wasn't like that though, he was too emotionally involved. There could have been a hundred different reasons for the pause, the most likely being that she was clearly in pain. The denial hurt more than it should've, which is why he had stopped listening and started to prepare the bath for her.

When she turned to him while undressing silently asking for help with her shirt, he had to fight to keep a straight face, she looked so sad, they were killing each other like this, but neither would change, they were far too stubborn for that.

He lifted her top off, and was once again knocked back by her beauty. Sure, she had tons of jagged cuts along her back and stomach, but he was able to look past them and see her beauty was still all there. He did notice that lately she seemed to be more self-conscious about it. He wasn't sure if it was because she was uncomfortable with him seeing her naked or if she didn't think she was beautiful anymore. He was leaning towards the latter though based on the way her face grew sadder when her shirt was removed and she turned around so her back was facing him while she finished undressing. There was no blush on her face to indicate embarrassment.

He watched as she stripped off the rest of her clothes and climbed into the bath, once she began to fight it, he'd grabbed her shoulder and hip and pushed her down, all the while, watching her face to try to see what she was thinking.

She just continued to fight, looking everywhere trying to find an escape until she met his questionable gaze and held it for a minute before looking down at his hands and her torso. She starred at herself for a few minutes during that time her face changed from a fighter to someone who had given up on themselves. Once she stopped fighting he removed his hold on her and moved to the counter warring with himself at what to do.

It was clear she thought she was ugly now with so many cuts that would undoubtedly turn into raised jagged scars, some already beginning to. Should he put his heart on the line again or not.

He wasn't sure how long he was warring with himself, but he heard her call out his name, gods it's been too long since she has said that. He turned around and saw her lips were starting to blue indicating she'd been in long enough. He laid out the towel and moved everything where he'd need it before going over to help her out of the bath.

He did her back first this time, seeing as they seemed to be healing slower than the front. It was now her turn to white knuckle the counter as he treated her as quickly as he could while not doing any more damage.

He turned her so she was facing him when he finished with her back and started to gently do her front. Once all the salt was applied her turned her once again so he could apply the aloe to her back before moving once again to her front. Again he saw her face turn sad when he started rubbing the aloe on her front.

Once the pain started to subside she once again looked down at her body and the hands applying the soothing agent, and was once again struck with the thought that no one would want someone who was so ugly. Men wanted women with flawless bodies, not one's with scars marking their bodies. Once again she thought that these treatments were all the physical contact a man would give her, and not just this man, men in general.

Pushing Jethro from her mind, she tried to picture Mark's reaction to her when he truly saw her. It brought tears to her eyes, even though she didn't enjoy the thought of lying with him, the thought that he would be repulsed by her hurt. She felt a hand wiping on her face and realized she must have been crying because Gibbs was wiping under her eyes and looking at her with more emotion the he had in a while.

"Jenny, what's wrong?" He asked knowing his heart could once again be trampled on, but not caring at the moment because she was hurting.

"What…oh, nothing, just painful…" she lied knowing he didn't believe her. He stepped closer so he was touching her knees with his thighs.

"Please, Jen, don't lie to me…" He was in over his head and he knew it, but he'd be damned if she continued to cry.

"Jethro, really, it's fine, don't worry about me so much, you've been doing a good job of it lately." She gave him a watery smile as she pushed him away so she could get down and get ready.

He watched as she went wanting to grab her and show her just how beautiful she was to him, but he didn't, he stayed rooted to the spot until he heard her door close and he just sighed and went back to his room to continue working on his table.

Jenny made it to her room before she started to cry, she heard his door shut and tried to make herself quiet, but wasn't doing a very good job. She walked over to the mirror and just looked at herself, once again wanting to hurt her past self for being stupid and running out of that hotel room.

She continued to stare at herself until she heard her front door shut and Abby giggling while Ziva called up.

"I'll be down in a minute, feel free to start without me." She shouted before pulling out a comfortable outfit and getting ready to spend the evening with her closest friends.

**Authors Note:**** So? Hopefully it was worth the wait, now seriously, the next chapter will be out sooner than this one if I get another response like I did for the last chapter. And the next chapter I have mapped out already, here's some things that will be included; drinking…a lot, secrets being revealed, vulnerability, conniving, and possibly fighting/a fight…depending on where it ends. **


End file.
